Thermal Effects and Sensing
Photothermal spectroscopy, nanoscale thermometry, and two-photon techniques
Photothermal spectroscopy and two-photon techniques for molecular recognition, nanoscale temperature sensing, and dynamics across phases.
Question
How does energy deposited on femtosecond timescales redistribute among thermal degrees of freedom, and what does that redistribution reveal about the molecules? Prof. Goswami’s early work on restricting intramolecular vibrational relaxation (IVR) [1] showed, through model calculations, that appropriate frequency sweeps can lock excitation over a well-defined range of resonance frequencies and so stop IVR. Control over IVR points to a way of steering the boundary between coherent and thermal processes, which motivates the lab’s photothermal research.
Technique
The lab studies light-matter interactions across solids (crystals, thin films, glass), liquids, gases, and interfaces (liquid-liquid, liquid-solid). Two-photon absorption, fluorescence, and cross-section measurements probe molecular dynamics in each phase, while a molecular beam chamber provides gas-phase access. The pulse shaper behind this work is described on the research overview, and a recent book chapter surveys the state of the art in ultrafast photothermal spectroscopy [2].
Thermal lens spectroscopy
Femtosecond thermal lens spectroscopy is a sensitive, non-invasive probe of molecular properties. The lab applies it to molecular recognition, quality assessment of commercial products, and characterization of binary liquid mixtures. Structure-property correlations extracted from optical nonlinearity and thermal relaxation dynamics [3] connect microscopic molecular features to macroscopic thermal response.
Nanoscale temperature sensing
Building on insights into the thermal relaxation process, the lab demonstrated nanoscale temperature sensing with femtosecond optical tweezers, giving on-the-fly calibrated measurements at length scales relevant to biological systems [4,5,6,7].
From coherent control to colloidal manipulation
This research program builds on early work in laser-enhanced spectroscopy [8] and excitation dynamics in dense media [9] to recent investigations of colloidal control and two-photon spectroscopy [10,11].
Representative papers
- Unusual Behavior of Thermal Lens in Alcohols, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2014. doi:10/gf5npt
- Controlling Local Temperature in Water Using Femtosecond Optical Tweezer, Biomedical Optics Express, 2015. doi:10/gf5msh
- Unraveling the Molecular Dependence of Femtosecond Laser-Induced Thermal Lens Spectroscopy, Analyst, 2020. doi:10.1039/C9AN01082C
- Compositional Analysis of Fragrance Accords Using Femtosecond Thermal Lens Spectroscopy, Chemistry -- an Asian Journal, 2025. doi:10.1002/asia.202500521
Full list of papers here.
Publications
- Chapter 7 - Ultrafast Laser Induced Photothermal Spectroscopy. S. Goswami and D. Goswami, in Photoacoustic and Photothermal Spectroscopy, S. N. Thakur, V. N. Rai, and J. P. Singh, eds. (Elsevier, 2023), pp. 155–184
BibTeX: @incollection{goswamiChapter7Ultrafast2023, title = {Chapter 7 - {{Ultrafast}} Laser Induced Photothermal Spectroscopy}, booktitle = {Photoacoustic and {{Photothermal Spectroscopy}}}, author = {Goswami, Sonaly and Goswami, Debabrata}, editor = {Thakur, Surya N. and Rai, Virendra N. and Singh, Jagdish P.}, year = {2023}, month = jan, pages = {155--184}, publisher = {Elsevier}, doi = {10.1016/B978-0-323-91732-2.00022-7}, urldate = {2023-07-28}, isbn = {978-0-323-91732-2}, langid = {english}, annotation = {GSCC: 0000000} } - Effect of Femtosecond Laser Pulse Repetition Rate on Nonlinear Optical Properties of Organic Liquids. S. K. Maurya, D. Yadav, and D. Goswami, PeerJ Physical Chemistry 1, e1 (2019)
BibTeX: @article{mauryaEffectFemtosecondLaser2019, title = {Effect of Femtosecond Laser Pulse Repetition Rate on Nonlinear Optical Properties of Organic Liquids}, author = {Maurya, Sandeep Kumar and Yadav, Dheerendra and Goswami, Debabrata}, year = {2019}, month = oct, journal = {PeerJ Physical Chemistry}, volume = {1}, pages = {e1}, doi = {10/ggbzhh}, urldate = {2019-10-29}, langid = {english}, annotation = {GSCC: 0000012 \\ 11 citations (Crossref) [2024-05-28]\\ 00000} } - On-the-Fly Calibrated Measure and Remote Control of Temperature and Viscosity at Nanoscale. D. Mondal, S. N. Bandyopadhyay, P. Mathur, and D. Goswami, ACS Omega 3(9), 12304–12311 (2018)
BibTeX: @article{mondalOntheFlyCalibratedMeasure2018, title = {On-the-{{Fly Calibrated Measure}} and {{Remote Control}} of {{Temperature}} and {{Viscosity}} at {{Nanoscale}}}, author = {Mondal, Dipankar and Bandyopadhyay, Soumendra Nath and Mathur, Paresh and Goswami, Debabrata}, year = {2018}, month = sep, journal = {ACS Omega}, volume = {3}, number = {9}, pages = {12304--12311}, issn = {2470-1343, 2470-1343}, doi = {10/gff5s6}, urldate = {2019-08-01}, langid = {english}, annotation = {GSCC: 0000004 \\ 4 citations (Crossref) [2024-05-28]\\ 00000} } - Two Photon Spectroscopy Can Serve as a Marker of Protein Denaturation Pathway. D. K. Das, S. I. Islam, N. Samanta, Y. Yadav, D. Goswami, and R. K. Mitra, Journal of Fluorescence 28(3), 855–862 (2018)
BibTeX: @article{dasTwoPhotonSpectroscopy2018, title = {Two {{Photon Spectroscopy Can Serve}} as a {{Marker}} of {{Protein Denaturation Pathway}}}, author = {Das, Dipak Kumar and Islam, Sk Imadul and Samanta, Nirnay and Yadav, Yogendra and Goswami, Debabrata and Mitra, Rajib Kumar}, year = {2018}, month = may, journal = {Journal of Fluorescence}, volume = {28}, number = {3}, pages = {855--862}, issn = {1053-0509, 1573-4994}, doi = {10/gd2g84}, urldate = {2019-08-01}, langid = {english}, annotation = {GSCC: 0000004 \\ 2 citations (Crossref) [2024-05-28]\\ 00000} } - Controlling and Tracking of Colloidal Nanostructures through Two-Photon Fluorescence. D. Mondal and D. Goswami, Methods and Applications in Fluorescence 4(4), 044004 (2016)
BibTeX: @article{mondalControllingTrackingColloidal2016, title = {Controlling and Tracking of Colloidal Nanostructures through Two-Photon Fluorescence}, author = {Mondal, Dipankar and Goswami, Debabrata}, year = {2016}, month = oct, journal = {Methods and Applications in Fluorescence}, volume = {4}, number = {4}, pages = {044004}, issn = {2050-6120}, doi = {10/gf5mrw}, urldate = {2019-08-01}, langid = {english}, annotation = {GSCC: 0000011 \\ 10 citations (Crossref) [2024-05-28]\\ 00003} } - Sensitive in Situ Nanothermometer Using Femtosecond Optical Tweezers. D. Mondal and D. Goswami, Journal of Nanophotonics 10(2), 026013 (2016)
BibTeX: @article{mondalSensitiveSituNanothermometer2016, title = {Sensitive in Situ Nanothermometer Using Femtosecond Optical Tweezers}, author = {Mondal, Dipankar and Goswami, Debabrata}, year = {2016}, month = may, journal = {Journal of Nanophotonics}, volume = {10}, number = {2}, pages = {026013}, issn = {1934-2608, 1934-2608}, doi = {10/f832c9}, urldate = {2019-08-01}, annotation = {GSCC: 0000006 \\ 2 citations (Crossref) [2024-05-28]\\ 00000} } - Precise Control and Measurement of Solid–Liquid Interfacial Temperature and Viscosity Using Dual-Beam Femtosecond Optical Tweezers in the Condensed Phase. D. Mondal, P. Mathur, and D. Goswami, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 18(37), 25823–25830 (2016)
BibTeX: @article{mondalPreciseControlMeasurement2016, title = {Precise Control and Measurement of Solid--Liquid Interfacial Temperature and Viscosity Using Dual-Beam Femtosecond Optical Tweezers in the Condensed Phase}, author = {Mondal, Dipankar and Mathur, Paresh and Goswami, Debabrata}, year = {2016}, journal = {Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics}, volume = {18}, number = {37}, pages = {25823--25830}, doi = {10/gf5mr8}, urldate = {2019-08-01}, langid = {english}, annotation = {GSCC: 0000011 \\ 9 citations (Crossref) [2024-05-28]\\ 00000} } - Molecular Structure-Property Correlations from Optical Nonlinearity and Thermal-Relaxation Dynamics. I. Bhattacharyya, S. Priyadarshi, and D. Goswami, Chemical Physics Letters 469(1), 104–109 (2009)
BibTeX: @article{bhattacharyyaMolecularStructurepropertyCorrelations2009, title = {Molecular Structure-Property Correlations from Optical Nonlinearity and Thermal-Relaxation Dynamics}, author = {Bhattacharyya, Indrajit and Priyadarshi, Shekhar and Goswami, Debabrata}, year = {2009}, month = feb, journal = {Chemical Physics Letters}, volume = {469}, number = {1}, pages = {104--109}, issn = {0009-2614}, doi = {10/cpq233}, urldate = {2019-08-14}, annotation = {GSCC: 0000039 \\ 33 citations (Crossref) [2024-05-28]\\ 00024} } - Altering Excitation Dynamics in Optically Dense Media Using Shaped Ultrafast Laser Pulses. J. C. Davis, M. R. Fetterman, D. Goswami, Wei Guo Yang, D. Keusters, and W. S. Warren, in Technical Digest. Summaries of Papers Presented at the Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference (1999), pp. 107–108
BibTeX: @inproceedings{davisAlteringExcitationDynamics1999, title = {Altering Excitation Dynamics in Optically Dense Media Using Shaped Ultrafast Laser Pulses}, booktitle = {Technical {{Digest}}. {{Summaries}} of {{Papers Presented}} at the {{Quantum Electronics}} and {{Laser Science Conference}}}, author = {Davis, J. C. and Fetterman, M. R. and Goswami, D. and {Wei Guo Yang} and Keusters, D. and Warren, W. S.}, year = {1999}, month = may, pages = {107--108}, doi = {10/cbtw6x}, annotation = {GSCC: 0000044 \\ 1 citations (Crossref) [2024-05-28]\\ 00000} } - Control of Chemical Dynamics by Restricting Intramolecular Vibrational Relaxation. D. Goswami and W. S. Warren, The Journal of Chemical Physics 99(6), 4509–4517 (1993)
BibTeX: @article{goswamiControlChemicalDynamics1993, title = {Control of Chemical Dynamics by Restricting Intramolecular Vibrational Relaxation}, author = {Goswami, Debabrata and Warren, Warren S.}, year = {1993}, month = sep, journal = {The Journal of Chemical Physics}, volume = {99}, number = {6}, pages = {4509--4517}, issn = {0021-9606}, doi = {10/bjh64b}, urldate = {2019-08-14}, annotation = {GSCC: 0000036 \\ 26 citations (Crossref) [2024-05-28]\\ 00000} } - Laser-Enhanced NMR Spectroscopy. W. S. Warren, S. Mayr, D. Goswami, and A. P. West, Science 255(5052), 1683–1685 (1992)
BibTeX: @article{warrenLaserenhancedNMRSpectroscopy1992, title = {Laser-Enhanced {{NMR}} Spectroscopy}, author = {Warren, W. S. and Mayr, S. and Goswami, D. and West, A. P.}, year = {1992}, month = mar, journal = {Science}, volume = {255}, number = {5052}, pages = {1683--1685}, issn = {0036-8075, 1095-9203}, doi = {10/fr8pjn}, urldate = {2019-08-14}, copyright = {\copyright{} 1992}, langid = {english}, pmid = {1553555}, annotation = {GSCC: 0000075 \\ 55 citations (Crossref) [2024-05-28]\\ 00000} }