Time-dependent quantum mechanical study of photodissociation of molecular oxygen in the Schumann–Runge continuum

Abstract

We present a time-dependent quantum mechanical investigation of predissociation of molecular oxygen following absorption in the Schumann–Runge continuum. We calculate the total and partial photoabsorption cross sections in a wave packet formalism in which the predissociation of the B 3Σu− molecular state is attributed to spin-orbit interactions with the Πu1, a 3Πu, Πu5, and 2 3Σu+ repulsive states. We calculate the branching ratio, describing the relative rates of production of excited (1D) and ground-state (3P) oxygen atoms, and find close agreement with a recent measurement.