Chemical Physics Letters, Vol.408, No.1-3, 89-95, 2005
Excitation energy dependence of excited states dynamics in all-trans-carotenes determined by femtosecond absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy
Ultrafast relaxation kinetics in beta-carotene and lycopene has been investigated by femtosecond absorption and fluorescence spectroscopies using tunable excitation pulses. The transient signals induced by the photoexcitation with larger excess energy have broader bands and longer lifetimes both in the 1(1)B(u)(+) and 2(1)A(g)(-) excited states. The excess vibrational energy remains longer than several picoseconds and slows the relaxation kinetics in carotenoids. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.