PRODUCTION OF A BEAM OF HIGHLY VIBRATIONALLY EXCITED CO USING PERTURBATIONS

Abstract

For many experimentalists (especially those, who are not spectroscopists), molecular pertubations are a curse, as they make assignments and analysis of spectral data more difficult. Nevertheless, they can also be a boon! \newline In this talk we will show how a molecular beam of CO in high vibrational states ($v=17,18$) can be prepared by an optical pumping scheme that we call PUMP-PUMP-PERTURB and DUMP (P$^3$D). P$^3$D exploits the loaning, via spin-orbit perturbations, of the large oscillator strength of the 4th positive system, $A ^1 \Pi \leftarrow X ^1 \Sigma ^+$, to the triplet manifold. This allows some nominally spin-forbidden transitions to be exploited in multistep optical pumping schemes. \newline The ability to \textit{state-selectively} prepare CO in high vibrational states opens up new opportunities for molecular beam scattering experiments.