Intermolecular Vibrational Levels Research Articles

HCl trimer: HCl-stretch excited intramolecular and intermolecular vibrational states from 12D fully coupled quantum calculations employing contracted intra- and inter-molecular bases.

We present fully coupled, full-dimensional quantum calculations of the inter- and intra-molecular vibrational states of HCl trimer, a paradigmatic hydrogen-bonded molecular trimer. They are performed utilizing the recently developed methodology for the rigorous 12D quantum treatment of the vibrations of the noncovalently bound trimers of flexible diatomic molecules [Felker and Bačić, J. Chem. Phys. 158, 234109 (2023)], which was previously applied to the HF trimer by us. In this work, the many-body 12D potential energy surface (PES) of (HCl)3 [Mancini and Bowman, J. Phys. Chem. A 118, 7367 (2014)] is employed. The calculations extend to the intramolecular HCl-stretch excited vibrational states of the trimer with one- and two-quanta, together with the low-energy intermolecular vibrational states in the two excited v = 1 intramolecular vibrational manifolds. They reveal significant coupling between the intra- and inter-molecular vibrational modes. The 12D calculations also show that the frequencies of the v = 1 HCl stretching states of the HCl trimer are significantly redshifted relative to those of the isolated HCl monomer. Detailed comparison is made between the results of the 12D calculations on the two-body PES, obtained by removing the three-body term from the original 2 + 3-body PES, and those computed on the 2 + 3-body PES. It demonstrates that the three-body interactions have a strong effect on the trimer binding energy as well as on its intra- and inter-molecular vibrational energy levels. Comparison with the available spectroscopic data shows that good agreement with the experiment is achieved only if the three-body interactions are included. Some low-energy vibrational states localized in a secondary minimum of the PES are characterized as well.

Non-adiabatic dissociation dynamics of Ar⋯I2 (E, v) intermolecular vibrational levels probed using velocity-map imaging.

Ion time-of-flight velocity-map imaging was used to measure the kinetic-energy distributions of the I2 ion-pair fragments formed after photoexcitation of Ar⋯I2 complexes to intermolecular vibrational levels bound within the Ar + I2 (E, vE = 0-2) potential energy surfaces. The kinetic-energy distributions of the I2 products indicate that complexes in the Ar⋯I2 (E, vE) levels preferentially dissociate into I2 in the D and β ion-pair states with no change in I2 vibrational excitation. The energetics of the levels prepared suggest that there is a non-adiabatic coupling of the initially prepared levels with the continuum of states lying above the Ar + I2 (D, vD = vE) and Ar + I2 (β, vβ = vE) dissociation limits. The angular anisotropies of the I2 product signals collected for many of the Ar⋯I2 (E, vE) levels have maxima parallel to the laser polarization axis. This contradicts expectations for the prompt dissociation of complexes with T-shaped geometries, which would result in images with maxima perpendicular to the polarization axis. These anisotropies suggest that there is a perturbation of the transition moment in these clusters or there are additional intermolecular interactions, likely those sampled while traversing above the attractive wells of the lower-energy potentials during dissociation. I2 (D', vD') products are also identified when preparing several of the low-lying levels localized in the T-shaped well of the Ar + I2 (E, vE = 0-2) potentials, and they are formed in multiple νD' vibrational levels spanning energy ranges up to 500cm-1.

Characterization of the intermolecular vibrational levels bound within the Ar + I2(E, v) potential energy surfaces

Two-color, two-photon laser-induced fluorescence experiments were performed to probe the intermolecular interactions within the Ar + I2(E, vE = 0–3) potential energy surfaces. Spectra were recorded using the lowest-energy T-shaped level and an excited intermolecular vibrational level with bending excitation within the Ar + I2(B, vB = 23) potential as intermediate levels to guide the spectral assignments. Progressions of intermolecular stretching and bending levels bound within the Ar + I2(E, vE) potentials were identified, and their vibrational frequencies were determined. The harmonic frequency and anharmonic constant for the bending vibrational mode were determined to be ωe(b) ∼ 34.8 cm−1 and ωeχe(b) ∼ 0.3 cm−1. The frequency and anharmonic constant for the stretching mode were found to be the same as reported previously [V.V. Baturo, et al. Chem. Phys. Lett. 647 (2016) 161], ωe(s) = 37.2(1.1) cm−1 and ωeχe(s) = 1.8(2) cm−1.

Intermolecular vibrational states of HF trimer from rigorous nine-dimensional quantum calculations: Strong coupling between intermolecular bending and stretching vibrations and the importance of the three-body interactions.

We present the computational methodology that allows rigorous and efficient nine-dimensional (9D) quantum calculations of the intermolecular vibrational states of noncovalently bound trimers of diatomic molecules, with the monomers treated as rigid. The full 9D vibrational Hamiltonian of the trimer is partitioned into a 3D "frame" (or stretching) Hamiltonian and a 6D "bend" Hamiltonian. These two Hamiltonians are diagonalized separately, and a certain number of their lowest-energy eigenstates is included in the final 9D product contracted basis in which the full 9D intermolecular vibrational Hamiltonian is diagonalized. This methodology is applied to the 9D calculations of the intermolecular vibrational levels of (HF)3, a prototypical hydrogen-bonded trimer, on the rigid-monomer version of an ab initio calculated potential energy surface (PES). They are the first to include fully the stretch-bend coupling present in the trimer. The frequencies of all bending fundamentals considered from the present 9D calculations are about 10% lower than those from the earlier quantum 6D calculations that considered only the bending modes of the HF trimer. This means that the stretch-bend coupling is strong, and it is imperative to include it in any accurate treatment of the (HF)3 vibrations aiming to assess the accuracy of the PES employed. Moreover, the 9D results are in better agreement with the limited available spectroscopic data that those from the 6D calculations. In addition, the 9D results show sensitivity to the value of the HF bond length, equilibrium or vibrationally averaged, used in the calculations. The implication is that full-dimensional 12D quantum calculations will be required to obtain definitive vibrational excitation energies for a given PES. Our study also demonstrates that the nonadditive three-body interactions are very significant in (HF)3 and have to be included in order to obtain accurate intermolecular vibrational energy levels of the trimer.

Probing the Dependence of Long-Range, Four-Atom Interactions on Intermolecular Orientation. 4. The Dissociation Dynamics of H2/D2···ICl(B,v'=3) and the Observation of Efficient Vibrational-Rotational Energy Transfer.

The vibrational predissociation dynamics of H2/D2···I35Cl(B,v'=3) complexes containing both para- and ortho-hydrogen prepared in different intermolecular vibrational levels were investigated. The Δv = -1 I35Cl(B,v = 2,j) rotational product-state distributions measured for excitation to the lowest-energy T-shaped levels of these complexes are mostly bimodal. The rotational distributions measured for excitation of the H2···I35Cl(B,v'=3) complexes are colder than those of the D2···I35Cl(B,v'=3) complexes, and there are only slight differences between those measured for the para- and ortho-hydrogen containing complexes. Excitation of the delocalized bending levels results in slightly colder rotational product-state distributions. The distributions suggest the dynamics result from more than impulsive dissociation off of the inner repulsive wall of the lower-energy H2/D2 + I35Cl(B,v = 2) potential surfaces of the products. The depths of these potentials and the energies available to these products also contribute to the dynamics. The formation of the Δv = -2, I35Cl(B,v = 1) product channel was only identified for excitation of levels within the ortho(j = 0)-D2 + I35Cl(B,v'=3) potential. The formation of this channel occurs via I35Cl(B,v'=3) vibrational to D2 rotational energy transfer forming the ortho(j = 2)-D2 + I35Cl(B,v = 1,j) products.

Theoretical investigation of the vibrational structure of the Ar–CO2 complex

We develop a new flexible-monomer two-body ab initio potential energy surface (PES) for the Ar−CO2 complex. The accuracy of this new potential function is validated by its agreement in the vibrational spectrum of the complex. Vibrational self-consistent field theory (VSCF) and vibrational configuration interaction (VCI) theory were employed to solve the complete vibrational Hamiltonian, including both intermolecular and intramolecular degrees of freedom. We observe excellent agreement with theoretical and experimental results for the vibrational energy levels in the Terahertz region. In the intramolecular region, we confirm the slight splitting of the bending modes of the CO2 monomer, where the in-plane bend is 0.83 cm−1 less energetic than the out-of-plane mode. We also explore the combination bands in the asymmetric stretching region of the CO2 monomer that involve the intermolecular motions, and show that these results compare favorably to the fundamental intermolecular vibrational energy levels.

Theoretical study of infrared spectra for the Ar–N2O complex: Fundamental and combination bands

In this work, we performed a theoretical study of fundamental and combination bands for the infrared spectra of the Ar–N2O complex based on high-precision potential energy surfaces and bound state calculations. We constructed three two-dimensional potential energy surfaces (PESs) for the ground and excited states of the Ar–N2O complex. The bound state calculations were performed to determine the energies of rotational and intermolecular vibrational levels for this complex. Based on the results of the bound state calculations, we provide predictions for the infrared spectra of the Ar–N2O complex, including the fundamental and combination bands in the ν1 and ν3 regions of the N2O monomer. The theoretical results are in excellent agreement with experimental data, so our predicted results could be helpful to further investigate the infrared spectrum of van der Waals complex Ar–N2O.

Investigations of the Rg-BrCl (Rg = He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe) binary van der Waals complexes: ab initio intermolecular potential energy surfaces, vibrational states and predicted pure rotational transition frequencies

The intermolecular potential energy surfaces (PESs) of the ground electronic state for the Rg-BrCl (Rg=He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe) van der Waals complexes have been constructed by using the coupled-cluster method in combination with the augmented quadruple-zeta correlation-consistent basis sets supplemented with an additional set of bond functions. The features of the anisotropic PESs for these complexes are remarkably similar, which are characterized by three minima and two saddle points between them. The global minimum corresponds to a collinear Rg-Br-Cl configuration. Two local minima, correlate with an anti-linear Rg-Cl-Br geometry and a nearly T-shaped structure, can also be located on each PES. The quantum bound state calculations enable us to investigate intermolecular vibrational states and rotational energy levels of the complexes. The transition frequencies are predicted and are fitted to obtain their corresponding spectroscopic constants. In general, the periodic trends are observed for this complex family. Comparisons with available experimental data for the collinear isomer of Ar-BrCl demonstrate reliability of our theoretical predictions, and our results for the other two isomers of Ar-BrCl as well as for other members of the complex family are also anticipated to be trustable. Except for the collinear isomer of Ar-BrCl, the data presented in this paper would be beneficial to improve our knowledge for these experimentally unknown species.

Spectroscopic identification of the Ar⋯I2 intermolecular levels bound throughout the Ar + I2(B,ν′) potential

Action spectra were recorded to identify the Ar⋯I2 intermolecular vibrational levels bound within the Ar+I2(B,ν′=20–23) excited-state potentials. Features associated with transitions of the linear and T-shaped Ar⋯I2(X,ν″=0) ground-state conformers are identified. Due to the overlap of levels bound within different Ar+I2(B,ν′) potentials there is a high density of spectral features. Comparisons of the spectral shifts of the features from different I2 B–X, ν′–0 bands are used to identify those levels bound within each of the Ar+I2(B,ν′) potentials. At least 17 bound intermolecular vibrational levels that span nearly the entire potential are identified.

Theoretical investigation of potential energy surface and bound states for the van der Waals complex Ar–BrCl dimer

The intermolecular potential energy surface (PES) of the ground electronic state for the Ar–BrCl dimer is constructed at the CCSD(T) level with the aug-cc-pVQZ basis set and mid-bond functions. The PES is characterized by three minima and two saddle points. The global minimum corresponding to a collinear Ar–BrCl configuration, which has been observed experimentally, is located at R=4.10Å and θ=2.5° with a well depth of −285.207cm−1. A nearly T-shaped structure and an anti-linear Ar–ClBr geometry is also predicted. The bound state calculations are preformed to study intermolecular vibrational modes, rotational levels and average structures for the complex. Our transition frequencies, spectroscopic constants and average structures for all isotopomers of the collinear isomer agree well with experimental data. We have also provided pure rotational transitional frequencies for both nearly T-shaped and anti-linear isomers. These results are significant for further experimental investigations of the Ar–BrCl dimer.

Experimental and Theoretical Investigations of the Dissociation Energy (D0) and Dynamics of the Water Trimer, (H2O)3

We report a joint experimental-theoretical study of the predissociation dynamics of the water trimer following excitation of the hydrogen bonded OH-stretch fundamental. The bond dissociation energy (D0) for the (H2O)3 → H2O + (H2O)2 dissociation channel is determined from fitting the speed distributions of selected rovibrational states of the water monomer fragment using velocity map imaging. The experimental value, D0 = 2650 ± 150 cm(-1), is in good agreement with the previously determined theoretical value, 2726 ± 30 cm(-1), obtained using an ab initio full-dimensional potential energy surface (PES) together with Diffusion Monte Carlo calculations [ Wang ; Bowman . J. Chem. Phys. 2011 , 135 , 131101 ]. Comparing this value to D0 of the dimer places the contribution of nonpairwise additivity to the hydrogen bonding at 450-500 cm(-1). Quasiclassical trajectory (QCT) calculations using this PES help elucidate the reaction mechanism. The trajectories show that most often one hydrogen bond breaks first, followed by breaking and re-forming of hydrogen bonds (often with different hydrogen bonds breaking) until, after many picoseconds, a water monomer is finally released. The translational energy distributions calculated by QCT for selected rotational levels of the monomer fragment agree with the experimental observations. The product translational and rotational energy distributions calculated by QCT also agree with statistical predictions. The availability of low-lying intermolecular vibrational levels in the dimer fragment is likely to facilitate energy transfer before dissociation occurs, leading to statistical-like product state distributions.

Intermolecular vibrations of fluorobenzene-Ar up to 130 cm−1 in the ground electronic state

Sixteen intermolecular vibrational levels of the S(0) state of the fluorobenzene-Ar van der Waals complex have been observed using dispersed fluorescence. The levels range up to ~130 cm(-1) in vibrational energy. The vibrational energies have been modelled using a complete set of harmonic and quartic anharmonic constants and a cubic anharmonic coupling between the stretch and long axis bend overtone that becomes near ubiquitous at higher energies. The constants predict the observed band positions with a root mean square deviation of 0.04 cm(-1). The set of vibrational levels predicted by the constants, which includes unobserved bands, has been compared with the predictions of ab initio calculations, which include all vibrational levels up to 70-75 cm(-1). There are small differences in energy, particularly above 60 cm(-1), however, the main differences are in the assignments and are largely due to the limitations of assigning the ab initio wavefunctions to a simple stretch, bend, or combination when the states are mixed by the cubic anharmonic coupling. The availability of these experimental data presents an opportunity to extend ab initio calculations to higher vibrational energies to provide an assessment of the accuracy of the calculated potential surface away from the minimum. The intermolecular modes of the fluorobenzene-Ar(2) trimer complex have also been investigated by dispersed fluorescence. The dominant structure is a pair of bands with a ~35 cm(-1) displacement from the origin band. Based on the set of vibrational modes calculated from the fluorobenzene-Ar frequencies, they are assigned to a Fermi resonance between the symmetric stretch and symmetric short axis bend overtone. The analysis of this resonance provides a measurement of the coupling strength between the stretch and short axis bend overtone in the dimer, an interaction that is not directly observed. The coupling matrix elements determined for the fluorobenzene-Ar stretch-long axis bend overtone and stretch-short axis bend overtone couplings are remarkably similar (3.8 cm(-1) cf. 3.2 cm(-1)). Several weak features seen in the fluorobenzene-Ar(2) spectrum have also been assigned.

Theoretical investigation of the He–I2(E3Πg) ion-pair state: Ab initio intermolecular potential and vibrational levels

We present a theoretical study on the potential energy surface and vibrational bound states of the E electronic excited state of the HeI(2) van der Waals system. The interaction energies are computed using accurate ab initio methods and large basis sets. Relativistic small-core effective core potentials in conjunction with a quintuple-zeta quality basis set are employed for the heavy iodine atoms in multireference configuration interaction calculations for the (3)A' and (3)A" states. For the representation of the potential energy surface we used a general interpolation technique for constructing potential surfaces from ab initio data based on the reproducing kernel Hilbert space method. The surface presents global and local minima for T-shaped configurations with well-depths of 33.2 and 4.6 cm(-1), respectively. Vibrational energies and states are computed through variational quantum mechanical calculations. We found that the binding energy of the HeI(2)(E) T-shaped isomer is 16.85 cm(-1), in excellent agreement with recent experimental measurements. In lieu of more experimental data we also report our predictions on higher vibrational levels and we analyze the influence of the underlying surface on them. This is the first attempt to represent the potential surface of such a highly excited electronic state of a van der Waals complex, and it demonstrates the capability of the ab initio technology to provide accurate results for carrying out reliable studies to model experimental data.

Accurate measurement of the T-shaped and linear [formula omitted] binding energies using vibronic-specific I2(B, ν) fragment velocity-map imaging

Ion time-of-flight slow fragment velocity imaging (SFVI) is combined with laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy measurements to accurately determine the binding energies of the T-shaped and linear conformers of the ground-state Ar⋯I2(X,ν″=0) complex. The fluorescence-based measurements were used to optimize the conditions for preferentially stabilizing either the T-shaped or linear conformers, and to ensure proper excitation energetics for the SFVI experiments. In the ion-imaging experiments, the kinetic energy distributions of specific I2(B,ν) fragments formed with very low kinetic energies via dissociation of initially prepared Ar⋯I2(B,ν′) intermolecular vibrational levels were imaged to measure the binding energies of the linear and T-shaped conformers. The linear conformer is energetically preferred, with a binding energy of 250.3(2.7)cm−1, over the T-shaped conformer, with a binding energy of 240.5(3.6)cm−1. These values are compared with previously reported data from high-level ab initio calculations and experiments.

Probing the Dependence of Long-Range, Four-Atom Interactions on Intermolecular Orientation: 3. Hydrogen and Iodine

Two-laser, action spectroscopy experiments have been performed in the I(2)B-X, υ'-0 spectral region on H(2)···I(2) and D(2)···I(2) complexes to investigate the dependence of the H(2)/D(2) + I(2) intermolecular interactions on orientation. The spectra contain features associated with at least two different conformers of the ground-state H(2)/D(2)···I(2)(X,υ'' = 0) complexes; one conformer has a preferred T-shaped geometry with the H(2)/D(2) moiety localized in a potential minimum that is orthogonal to the I-I bond axis, and the second conformer has a linear geometry with the H(2)/D(2) moiety positioned in minima at either end of the I(2) molecule, along the bond axis. Those features associated with complexes containing para-H(2)(j = 0), ortho-H(2)(j = 1), ortho-D(2)(j = 0), and para-D(2)(j = 1) are also assigned. The linear conformers are found to be more strongly bound than the T-shaped conformers with binding energies of 118.9(1.9) cm(-1) versus 91.3-93.3 cm(-1) for the ortho-H(2)···I(2) complexes and 144.2(2.1) cm(-1) versus 107.9 cm(-1) for the para-D(2)···I(2) complexes, respectively. Electronic structure calculations of the complexes containing ICl and I(2) with H(2), He, Ne, and Ar were performed to reveal the nature of the interactions and to shed insight into the origins of the different binding energies. The most stable minima in the H(2)/D(2) + I(2)(B,υ') excited-state potentials have T-shaped geometries. Calculated energies and probability amplitudes of the excited-state levels provide insight into the different excited-state intermolecular vibrational levels accessed by transitions of the two ground-state conformers.

Experimental interrogation of the multidimensional He+ICl(E,v†) and He+ICl(β,v†) intermolecular potential energy surfaces

Resonant two-photon excitation of the T-shaped and linear He...I(35)Cl(X,v(") = 0) complexes is used to access the intermolecular vibrational levels bound within the He + ICl(beta,v(dagger) = 0-2) and He + ICl(E,v(dagger) = 11,12) intermolecular potentials. The excitation utilizes different metastable intermolecular vibrational levels within the He + ICl(A,v(') = 15) and He + ICl(B,v(') = 2,3) potentials to access levels with varying intermolecular vibrational excitation in the ion-pair states. In addition to providing data revealing properties of the He + ICl(E,v(dagger)) and He + ICl(beta,v(dagger)) potentials, the transition energies of the observed features permit the relative binding energies of the T-shaped and linear ground-state He...ICl(X,v(") = 0) conformers to be accurately measured. The binding energies of the T-shaped and linear He...I(35)Cl(X,v(") = 0) conformers are 16.6(3) and 22.0(2) cm(-1), respectively. These values and the observed transition energies are then used to set the binding energies of the T-shaped He...I(35)Cl complexes in the He + ICl(A,v(') = 15), He + ICl(B,v(') = 3), He + ICl(beta,v(dagger) = 1), and He + ICl(E,v(dagger) = 12) potentials as 13.4(3), 13.3(3), 41(1), and 39.2(4) cm(-1), respectively. Nonadiabatic coupling between specific intermolecular vibrational levels within the He + ICl(beta,v(dagger)) state and the ICl(D('),v(dagger)) molecular state is observed.

Potential energy surface, van der Waals motions, and vibronic transitions in phenol-argon complex

The structure and intermolecular vibrational energy levels of the phenol-Ar complex are calculated from its potential energy surface. This surface is constructed from a large set of the interaction energy values computed using second-order Moller-Plesset perturbation theory with the augmented correlation consistent polarized valence double-zeta basis set. The global minimum in the potential energy surface corresponds to a cluster structure with Ar located over the geometric center of the phenol ring at a distance of 3.510 A and shifted by 0.1355 A towards oxygen. The calculated dissociation energy of 371 cm(-1) is in accordance with the experiment. Additional local minima higher in energy are with Ar placed in the phenol plane. However, they are too shallow to form the bound states corresponding to planar isomers. The deformation of the potential energy surface shape, created by the interaction of Ar with the phenolic oxygen, is responsible for a pronounced intermode mixing. As a result, a set of hybrid stretching-bending states appears which cannot be described in terms of the standard models. The intermode coupling is reflected in the vibronic structure of the S1-S0 electronic transition. The intensities of the vibronic bands are calculated from the electronic transition dipole moment surfaces determined using the ab initio single-excitation configuration interaction method. They allow us to correct and complete the assignment of the spectra observed in phenol-Ar, as well as in the analogous complexes of phenol with Kr and Xe.

Stabilization and rovibronic spectra of the T-shaped and linear ground-state conformers of a weakly bound rare-gas–homonuclear dihalogen complex: He⋯Br2

Laser-induced fluorescence spectra of Br(2) entrained in a He supersonic expansion have been recorded in the Br(2) B-X, 8-0, 12-0, and 21-0 spectral regions at varying downstream distances, and thus different temperature regimes. Features associated with transitions of the T-shaped and linear He...Br(2)(X,nu(") = 0) complexes are identified. The changes in the relative intensities of the T-shaped and linear features with cooling in the expansion indicate that the linear conformer is energetically more stable than the T-shaped conformer. A He + Br(2)(X,nu(") = 0) ab initio potential-energy surface, computed at the coupled cluster level of theory with a large, flexible basis set, is used to calculate the binding energies of the two conformers, 15.8 and 16.5 cm(-1) for the T-shaped and linear complexes, respectively. This potential and an excited-state potential [M. P. de Lara-Castells, A. A. Buchachenko, G. Delgado-Barrio, and P. Villareal, J. Chem. Phys. 120, 2182 (2004)] are used to calculate the excitation spectra of He...(79)Br(2)(X,nu(") = 0) in the Br(2) B-X, 12-0 region. The calculated spectra are used to make spectral assignments and to determine the energies of the excited-state intermolecular vibrational levels accessed in the observed transitions. Temperature-dependent laser-induced fluorescence spectra and a simple thermodynamic model [D. S. Boucher, J. P. Darr, M. D. Bradke, R. A. Loomis, and A. B. McCoy, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 6, 5275 (2004)] are used to estimate that the linear conformer is 0.4(2) cm(-1) more strongly bound than the T-shaped conformer. Two-laser action spectroscopy experiments reveal that the binding energy of the linear He...(79)Br(2)(X,nu(") = 0) conformer is 17.0(8) cm(-1), and that of the T-shaped He...(79)Br(2)(X,nu(") = 0) conformer is then 16.6(8) cm(-1), in good agreement with the calculated values.

The dissociation dynamics of He⋯I 35Cl(B,v′=2,3) complexes with varying amounts of internal energy

The He...I (35)Cl intermolecular vibrational levels with n'=0-6 that are bound within the He+ICl(B,v'=3) potential [A. B. McCoy, J. P. Darr, D. S. Boucher, P. R. Winter, M. D. Bradke, and R. A. Loomis, J. Chem. Phys. 120, 2677 (2004)] are identified in laser-induced fluorescence experiments performed at very low temperatures within a supersonic expansion. Comparisons of the positions and intensities of these lines with the excitation spectra, calculated using potential surfaces to describe the interactions between the helium atom and ICl in its ground and excited state, assist in the assignments. Based on these comparisons the excited state potential was rescaled so that the experimental and calculated J'=0 energies agree to within the experimental uncertainties for all but the lowest, n'=0, intermolecular level. Two-laser, action, and pump-probe spectroscopy experiments indicate that the bound He...I (35)Cl(B,v'=3) intermolecular vibrational levels undergo vibrational predissociation forming rotationally excited I (35)Cl(B,v'=2,j') products with distributions that depend upon the initial intermolecular vibrational level excited. Action spectra recorded in the ICl B-X, 2-0 region while monitoring the Deltav=0, I (35)Cl(B,v'=2) channel reveal two additional dissociation mechanisms for the He...I (35)Cl(B,v') excited state complexes: rotational predissociation of discrete metastable states lying slightly above the He+I (35)Cl(B,v'=2) asymptote and direct dissociation that occurs when the linear conformer is excited to the continuum of states above the same asymptote. The rotational predissociation pathway forms I (35)Cl(B,v'=2,j') products in all of the rotational states energetically accessible. The direct dissociation mechanism yields very cold rotational product state distributions; for instance, the average rotational energy in the product state distribution measured when the linear complexes are prepared 20 cm(-1) above the dissociation limit is only 1.51 cm(-1), representing only 7.6% of the available energy.

Vibrational relaxation dynamics of I35Cl(B, v′) induced by low-temperature collisions with He atoms

Using laser-induced fluorescence and two-laser, pump-probe spectroscopy, collision-induced vibrational relaxation is observed to compete with the dissociation of electronically excited ICl in a helium carrier gas expansion. By thoroughly characterizing the expansion properties, we observe that collisions of ICl(B, v'= 3) molecules with He atoms in the expansion induce vibrational relaxation of the initially prepared dihalogen down to rotor states in the next lower ICl(B,v'= 2) level on timescales that compete with the rate for non-adiabatic transfer from the B state to the Z1 state. The resulting ICl(B,v'= 2,j') product rotational distribution, along with the analogous ICl(B,v'= 1,j') distribution formed by collisional relaxation of molecules in the long-lived ICl(B,v'= 2) level are compared to ICl(B,v'= 2,j') products formed by vibrational predissociation of He...ICl complexes prepared in different intermolecular vibrational levels within the He + ICl(B,v'= 3) potential. No evidence is observed for resonance-enhanced collisional cross sections, even at the low temperatures achieved, T < 1.0 K.