INFRARED TRANSIENT HOLE-BURNING IN LIQUIDS

Transient spectral holes with a lifetime of a few picoseconds are observed in the CH-stretching band of liquid CHBr3:C2D5OD at room temperature. It is proposed that weak hydrogen bonds with a lifetime of a few picoseconds represent the physical mechanism for the inhomogeneous broadening. From a comparison of the transient spectra with numerical simulations, the homogeneous linewidth of 9 +/- cm-1 and the width of the spectral distribution of 23 +/- 5 cm-1 are determined (hwhm). The relation between hole width and homogeneous linewidth is discussed.