Ultrafast energy transfer to liquid water by sub-picosecond high-intensity terahertz pulses: an ab initio molecular dynamics study

Abstract

Sub-picosecond heating of bulk water is accomplished by ultrashort and intense THz pulses which are able to transfer a large amount of energy to the liquid. The energy transferred corresponds to a temperature jump of about 600 K. Liquid water becomes a structureless and hot gas-like system still at the density of the liquid, in which the hydrogen-bonding structure has been washed out.

Keywords: X-ray diffraction; hydrogen bonds; molecular dynamics; terahertz excitation; water.