TIME-RESOLVED MEASUREMENTS OF THE B-2-SIGMA STATE OF SRF BY LASER SPECTROSCOPY

We report a time-resolved investigation of the low-lying state, B-2 Si gma, of gaseous SrF using laser spectroscopy with the following derive d zero-pressure lifetime tau(B (2) Sigma(v' = 0)) = 25.4 +/- 0.8 ns. S uch measurements constitute an important contribution to our overall u nderstanding of excited alkaline earth halides. They are also applied to the interpretation of molecular dynamic investigations of halogen a tomic abstraction reactions by excited atoms, in the present case, Sr[ 5s5p(P-3(J))], with molecules such as CH3F where the A --> X and B --> X chemiluminescence emissions are employed in the time-domain to moni tor the production of electronically excited SrF on collision.