Linear dichroism spectra of cubic sodium uranyl acetate single crystal

Abstract

The anisotropy in the absorption spectra of cubic sodium uranyl acetate single crystal has been established by measurement of linear dichroism. This represents the first observation of linear dichroism in the absence of external perturbations in a cubic system. The optical anisotropy is attributed to the partial electric-quadrupolar nature of the transition. The ratio of the electricquadrupole to the electric-dipole contributions to the intensity of the 5∑ g + → Δ g transitions is estimated to be of the order of 10 −6.