Rotational analysis and assignment of the green band system of FeH to the e 6Π–a 6Δ transition

Abstract

The technique of laser excitation spectroscopy at Doppler resolution has been used to record bands in the electronic spectrum of FeH around 532 nm. A number of lines were also recorded at sub-Doppler resolution using intermodulated fluorescence spectroscopy. Dispersed fluorescence studies were used extensively to aid the assignment of a total of 153 lines in this region of the spectrum to either the (0,0) or the (0,1) band of the e 6Π–a 6Δ transition. All the assignments from the excitation spectrum obey the selection rule ΔΩ=−1, giving subbands which involve the lowest three spin components in each state; transitions with ΔΩ=0 were seen only in dispersed fluorescence. Term values have been determined for the three components in both the ground vibrational level of the e 6Π electronic state and the first excited vibrational level of the a 6Δ electronic state (those for the v=0 level of the a 6Δ state have been determined previously). This study provides the first characterization of the spin components and the rotational levels of the e 6Π state of FeH. This state is heavily perturbed and exhibits pronounced lambda-type doubling, making it very difficult to model the energy levels using an effective Hamiltonian approach.