Knowledge Bank

A number of combination bands associated with the $v1$ and $\nu 2$ fundamentals of HF dimer have been observed using near infrared optothermal spectroscopy. Comparisons with the available theoretical calculations on this $system1$ suggest that these involve both the van der Waals bending and stretching modes. Photofragment angular distributions have also been recorded for several transitions associated with these combination bonds, yielding information on the final rotational state distributions of the two HF fragments. The results provide further confirmation of the dissociation energy of the dimer determined $previously2$ and suggest that dissociation dynamics and product state distributions are sensitive to where the initial energy is deposited, namely in the van der Waals bending or stretching coordinates.