ABSTRACT
O-H Stretching Oscillators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 2.6 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Numerous basic processes in condensed-phase physics and chemistry involve nuclear motions, among them lattice dynamics and structural phase transitions in solids, structural fluctuations in liquids, and chemical reactions leading to new molecular structures. In most cases, vibrational degrees of freedom are coupled to or populated through other (e.g., electronic) excitations and thus play a central role for nonequilibrium phenomena in the condensed phase. Nuclear configurations as well as nuclear motions and their couplings are reflected in the vibrational
absorption or Raman spectra of the system, providing insight into both structural properties and microscopic dynamics.
