Terahertz and water

The unique properties of liquid water arise from its dynamic hydrogen-bond network, with bond lifetimes on the order of one picosecond. Since an oscillating electric field with a one picosecond period has a spectrum spanning the terahertz (THz) range, THz spectroscopy offers a powerful means to probe of the dynamical network of hydrogen-bonded molecules. In fact, radiation between about 1 and 25 THz is strongly absorbed by the intermolecular, collective modes of hydrogen-bonded waters, which can be thought of as “small and short-lived phonons”. The talk is structured in two parts. First, we will explore how intense THz time-domain spectroscopy can pinpoint the interactions between water and various solutes. In the second part, we will examine the initiation and consequences of photo-ionisation processes in aqueous environments, focusing on how water responds to excess electrons and solvated charge carriers.

Short Bio

Fabio Novelli received his PhD in 2013 from the University of Trieste (Italy), specialising in nonlinear optics and electron-correlated condensed matter physics, under the supervision of Daniele Fausti and Fulvio Parmigiani. From 2014 to 2016, he worked with Jeff Davis at Swinburne University of Technology (Australia), focusing on multidimensional coherent effects in light-harvesting proteins. Between 2017 and 2022, he conducted research on aqueous solutions with Martina Havenith at Ruhr University Bochum (Germany). Since 2023, he has been the Principal Investigator of an Individual Research Grant (DFG) studying the conductivity of gold nanoparticle suspensions. In 2025, he was appointed Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Southampton (UK).