Ca. Biesheuvel et al., High-resolution laser spectroscopy of NO2 just above the (X)over-tilde(2)A(1)-(A)over-tilde(2)B(2) conical intersection: Transitions of K-=0 stacks, J CHEM PHYS, 109(22), 1998, pp. 9701-9712
The visible absorption spectrum of NO2 is very dense and irregular, and sho
ws signs of a chaotic frequency and intensity distribution in the higher en
ergy region. The complexity of the spectrum is related to a conical interse
ction of the potential energy surfaces of the two lowest electronic states.
Above the conical intersection strong vibronic interactions lead to hybrid
eigenstates, which can be viewed as mixtures of low vibrational levels of
the electronically excited state and high vibrational levels of the electro
nic ground state. As a contribution to the elucidation of the nature of the
vibronic bands of NO2 we have measured high-resolution spectra of a number
of vibronic bands in the region between 10 000 and 14 000 cm(-1) by exciti
ng a supersonically cooled beam of NO2 molecules with a narrow-band Ti:Sapp
hire ring laser. The energy absorbed by the molecules was detected by a bol
ometer, and in some cases, laser-induced fluorescence was detected. The hyp
erfine structure is dominated by the Fermi-contact interaction and the magn
itude of this interaction is a direct measure of the (electronic) compositi
on of the hybrid eigenstates. In the present paper we have restricted our a
nalysis to transitions of K = 0 stacks. The fine- and hyperfine structure o
f each rotational transition can be analyzed by using an effective Hamilton
ian approach. The very good agreement that is found between the calculated
transition strengths and the measured line intensities is evidence that in
the spectral region studied, rovibronic interactions play a minor role. The
composition of the hybrid eigenstates is compared with ab initio calculati
ons reported in the literature, leading to the conclusion that measurements
of the hyperfine structure are a helpful tool in characterizing vibronic b
ands. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-9606(98)01446-9].