Stokes Raman scattering (${\nu }_s={\nu }_0-{\nu }_v$)

In Stokes Raman scattering, matter gains internal energy and the photon loses the same amount. For a quantum harmonic oscillator representing one molecular vibration, $E_v=h{\nu }_v(v+1/2)$ with $v=0,1,\dots$. The transition $v\to v+1$ gives ${\nu }_s={\nu }_0-{\nu }_v$, requiring ${\nu }_0>{\nu }_v$ for an outgoing photon. Even a molecule initially in its vibrational ground state can undergo this process. The shared name does not turn it into the absorption/emission-band Stokes shift used for fluorescence.