ACCURATE LABORATORY WAVELENGTHS OF THE e 3 Σ – (ν′ = 5) – X 1 Σ + (ν″ = 0) BAND OF 12 C 16 O

Abstract

The forbidden singlet-triplet transitions of carbon monoxide (CO) are important in the interpretation of vacuum ultraviolet interstellar absorption spectra and in particular for the measurement of large CO column densities. Twenty rovibronic lines of the e 3Σ–(ν' = 5) – X 1Σ+(ν'' = 0) band of 12 C 16O for which laboratory wavelengths were previously unavailable were identified in laser-induced fluorescence excitation spectra. Wavelengths were assigned to five rovibronic transitions to an average accuracy of 0.0028 A. A further 15 lines could not be fully resolved and average wavelengths were measured for these groups of closely spaced lines. A wavelength difference of 0.011 ± 0.0028 A between the measured wavelengths and the calculated wavelengths in the atlas of Eidelsberg & Rostas demonstrates the need for more experimental data on CO.