Abstract
WE report here the detection by kinetic absorption spectroscopy of He2 (a3Σu+(σ=0)) produced in the gas phase at 77° K with an intense microwave pulse discharge. Although vibrationally cold, at this temperature the molecules exhibit an extremely non-equilibrium distribution in the high rotational states, which show only a minor degree of relaxation during their lifetime of 10−4 sec with total helium pressures up to 100 mm. The observations appear to constitute a unique example, as yet, in which the absorption spectrum of a rotationally hot molecule yields relative reaction rates into individual rotational states. It is suggested that the observed rotational distributions of He2 (a3Σu+) may reveal the states of He2+ (X2Σu+) from which it is formed.
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CALLEAR, A., HEDGES, R. Metastability of Rotationally Hot Dihelium at 77° K. Nature 215, 1267–1268 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/2151267a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2151267a0
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