Transient stimulated Raman scattering. Relaxation times of molecular vibrations

A description is given of the experiments in which molecular vibrations were excited in liquids by picosecond laser pulses. The scattering of probing pulses at small angles with respect to the exciting radiation made it possible to measure the dephasing time of the molecular vibrations. The scattering of probing pulses at large angles provided means for measuring the vibrational energy relaxation time and to determine the specific mechanisms of this relaxation (intramolecular and intermolecular vibration-vibrational transitions).