Femtosecond studies of the presolvated electron: An excited state of the solvated electron?

Femtosecond studies of the formation, decay, and absorption spectra of the wet or presolvated electron are presented. The discovery of an isosbestic wavelength shows for the first time that the wet-to-solvated electron transition involves only two states. The model of the wet electron as an excited state of the solvated electron and the wet-to-solvated electron transition, viewed as a radiationless transition, is discussed. An ultrafast component of the visible absorption signal is believed to be ${\mathrm{H}}_2$${\mathrm{O}}^{+}$.