Abstract
Femtosecond impulsive stimulated scattering (ISS) experiments were performed on liquid carbon disulphide as a function of pressure at room temperature in a diamond anvil cell. The subpicosecond response of the liquid becomes weakly oscillatory as pressure is raised from one atmosphere to several kilobars, indicating microscopic dynamics that is vibrational in character at short times. Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to study the contribution to the ISS signal from single-molecule reorientational motion. Even at very high densities the reorientation of single molecules in the computer liquid is insufficient to explain the oscillations in the ISS signal.