STUDY OF LOW-LYING ELECTRONIC STATES OF OZONE BY ANION PHOTOELECTRON-SPECTROSCOPY OF O-3(-)

The low-lying electron states of ozone are studied using anion photoel ectron spectroscopy of O-3. The spectra show photodetachment transitio ns from 0(3)(-) to the ($) over tilde X(1)A(1) ground state and to the five lowest lying electronic states of the ozone molecule, namely the (3)A(2), B-3(2), (1)A(2), B-3(1), and B-1(1) states. The geometry of the ozonide anion determined from a Franck-Condon analysis of the O(3) X(1)A(1) ground state spectrum agrees reasonably well with previous wo rk. The excited state spectra are dominated by bending vibrational pro gressions which, for some States, extend well above the dissociation a symptote without noticeable lifetime broadening effects. Preliminary a ssignments are based upon photoelectron angular distributions and comp arison with ab initio calculations. None of the excited states observe d lies below the ground state dissociation limit of O-3 as suggested b y previous experimental and theoretical results.