Generalized frequency spectra of water at both sides of the freezing transition Original Research Article

We report a comparison of the experimental frequency distributions of heavy water on both sides of the melting transition. The spectra for ice about 3∘ below melting point shows a still narrow first peak at about 6.5 meV as well as a gap centered at about 40 meV separating both the “translational” and “librational” bands. Such features are profoundly modified upon melting. The first peak is still present in the liquid as a well-defined entity although significantly broader than that shown by the hot crystal. The derived Z(ε) spectra is then used for a tentative assignment of features appearing on the Raman spectrum of the liquid.