Absorption and fluorescence of single molecules

Simultaneous detection of single molecules by absorption and fluorescence is demonstrated using confocal microscopy at cryogenic temperature. Dynamical processes such as blinking and spectral jumping of single emitters are observed in both detection channels. The relative magnitude of fluorescence and absorption varies between molecules. In particular, we observe molecules that do not emit detectable Stokes-shifted fluorescence but show a strong absorption signal. The fact that coherent resonant scattering underlies the absorption process is demonstrated by a correlation between small linewidth and large absorption amplitude.