On the validity of the inverted snowball picture of solvation dynamics

In this article we examine the validity of the ‘‘inverted snowball’ picture of solvation dynamics using results of simulations of an idealized model solvent. The solvent consists of point dipoles which undergo rotational Brownian motion while fixed to the sites of a simple cubic lattice. In this system we observe a much more complex distance dependence of the solvation response than assumed in the inverted snowball picture. These results indicate that the intermolecular correlations responsible for solvation do not allow for any useful spatial decomposition of the response and so point to the inadequacy of such a description for understanding solvation dynamics.