Knowledge Bank

Over the past several years we have performed high resolution spectroscopic experiments on the $M\cdot XII(A2\Sigma -)(M=Ne,Ar,Kr;X=O,S)$ family of complexes. Based on these studies, we have fit a set of empirical potential surfaces that reproduce the experimental band origins to within $1cm-1$ and the rotational constants to within 1%. In this talk, we will discuss these potentials and the experimental spectroscopic trends in this class of systems. In the case of $Nc-SH$, the most weakly bound of these species with a $D0$ of $41cm-1$, only one quantum of excitation in either of the van der Waals modes is necessary to allow the complex to sample both the Ne-SH and the Ne-HS minima on the potential. In contrast, in the most strongly bonded case of the $Kr-OH$ complex, $D0$ is $1772cm-1$, and all of the assigned states are found to be localized in the Kr-HO minimum of the potential. Manifestations of this range of bonding, from van der Waals to near covalent in strength, in the spectroscopic constants will also be discussed.