Molecular Origin of Friction in Liquids

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Abstract
Relaxation in liquids can often be formally attributed to “friction,” a generally time-dependent quantity that can be quantitatively specified, but is difficult to break into molecular components. We show here how the instantaneous normal modes of a fluid can be used to derive this friction, thereby identifying its molecular origins. This approach is illustrated by dissecting the vibrational relaxation of a dissolved diatomic molecule into contributions from specific kinds of solvent dynamics.