Analytic description of photoacoustic signal generation and application for the determination of the fluorescence quantum yield

In this work, we theoretically describe photoacoustic signal generation of fluorophores, for which triplet relaxation can be neglected. In the theoretical model, the excited state lifetimes, the fluorescence quantum yield, and fast vibrational relaxation are considered. Based on our findings, we propose that for fluorophores the photoacoustic signal together with knowledge about the absorption and emission spectrum allows to directly determine the fluorescence quantum yield without comparative measurements.