Knowledge Bank

Silver atom clusters are produced in a supersonic molecular beam with pulsed-nozzle laser vaporization. Mass-resolved resonant two-photon photoionization produces an electronic spectrum for the trimer ($Ag3$) with an origin at $26,971cm-1$ (3.34 eV). 17 vibronic bands are resolved. The vibronic level structure is consistent with a triangular 2E'' excited state undergoing dynamic Jahn-Teller distortion. Vibrational frequencies are obtained for the symmetric stretch ($179cm-1$) and the doubly degenerate bend (104 $cm-1$). Ongoing two-color experiments will attempt to measure the ionization potential and level specific lifetimes.