Optical spectra of push-pull chromophores in solution: A simple model

We extend the self-consistent two-state model, already proposed to describe linear and nonlinear spectral properties of push-pull chromophores in solu tion, to describe vibrational spectra and to account for inhomogeneous broa dening effects occurring in polar solvents. The model, not relying on pertu rbative expansions of the solute-solvent interaction, offers a simple and i nternally consistent description of electronic and vibrational spectra. Exo tic and apparently unrelated phenomena, like the narrowing of time-resolved emission bands and the dispersion of resonant Raman frequencies with the e xcitation line find a natural explanation in the proposed approach.