Investigation of broad molecular absorption bands with the help of line shape analysis in coherent Raman scattering experiments

Abstract The line shape observed in coherent Raman scattering (CRS) with excitation under conditions of electronic resonance is discussed, For the case of A‐type scattering, the complex Raman amplitude is related directly to the molecular one‐photon absorbance of the resonance transition concerned. The basis for this relation is transform theory, a method known from spontaneous resonance Raman scattering to relate the Raman excitation profile to the observed molecular absorbance. Features of the Raman amplitude, determining the observed line shapes for coherent anti‐Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) and for coherent Stokes Raman scattering (CSRS), are discussed qualitatively. The discussion considers two typical forms in which broad molecular absorption spectra of polyatomic molecules in the condensed phases appear, Inhomogeneous broadening leads to characteristic changes of the Raman amplitude in relation to molecular absorbance in the case of CSRS (formolecules in the electronic ground state), whereas for CARS the relation derived in the homogeneous broadened case remains valid. The special advantages of the CRS technique for determining the complex non‐Raman resonant (background) susceptibility from concentration dependence are demonstrated.