title: Ultrafast conversions between hydrogen bonded structures in liquid water observed by femtosecond x-ray spectroscopy.
abstract: We present the first femtosecond soft x-ray spectroscopy in liquids, enabling the observation of changes in hydrogen bond structures in water via core-hole excitation. The oxygen K-edge of vibrationally excited water is probed with femtosecond soft x-ray pulses, exploiting the relation between different water structures and distinct x-ray spectral features. After excitation of the intramolecular OH stretching vibration, characteristic x-ray absorption changes monitor the conversion of strongly hydrogen-bonded water structures to more disordered structures with weaker hydrogen-bonding described by a single subpicosecond time constant. The latter describes the thermalization time of vibrational excitations and defines the characteristic maximum rate with which nonequilibrium populations of more strongly hydrogen-bonded water structures convert to less-bonded ones. On short time scales, the relaxation of vibrational excitations leads to a transient high-pressure state and a transient absorption spectrum different from that of statically heated water.
authors.affiliation: PULSE Institute, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA.
authors.forename: Haidan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.forename: Nils
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Huse
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Schoenlein
authors.forename: Aaron M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Lindenberg