Effect of the structural order of all‐trans‐β‐carotene on the Raman scattering cross section at low concentrations

Using the technique of liquid‐core optical fiber (LCOF), we measured the Raman scattering cross sections (RSCSs) of the carbon–carbon (CC) stretching vibrational modes of all‐trans‐β‐carotene in carbon disulfide (CS 2 ) at concentrations ranging from 10 −6 to 10 −11 M . It was found that the RSCSs of all‐trans‐β‐carotene were extremely high with decreasing concentration, and the absolute RSCS of C stretching modes of all‐trans‐β‐carotene reached the value of 2.6 × 10 −20 cm 2 molecule −1 Sr −1 at 8 × 10 −11 M , which is larger than at 8 × 10 −6 Mby 4 orders of magnitude. A theoretical interpretation of the anomalous experimental results is given, which introduces a qualitative nonlinear model of coherent weakly damped electron‐lattice vibrations in structural order of all‐trans‐β‐carotene. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.