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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Probing the Structure and Dynamics of Interfacial Water with Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy
Published on: May 27, 2018
Two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy and ultrafast anisotropy decay of water
T L C Jansen1, B M Auer, Mino Yang
1Center for Theoretical Physics and Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands. thomas.lacour@gmail.com
Abstract:
We introduce a sparse-matrix algorithm that allows for the simulation of two-dimensional infrared (2DIR) spectra in systems with many coupled chromophores. We apply the method to bulk water, and our results are based on the recently developed ab initio maps for the vibrational Hamiltonian. Qualitative agreement between theory and experiment is found for the 2DIR spectra without the use of any fitting or scaling parameters in the Hamiltonian. The calculated spectra for bulk water are not so different from those for HOD in D(2)O, which we can understand by considering the spectral diffusion time-correlation functions in both cases. We also calculate the ultrafast anisotropy decay, which is dominated by population transfer, finding very good agreement with experiment. Finally, we determine the vibrational excitation diffusion rate, which is more than two orders of magnitude faster than the diffusion of the water molecules themselves.
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