DYNAMICS OF RYDBERG STATES OF NITRIC-OXIDE PROBED BY 2-COLOR RESONANT4-WAVE-MIXING SPECTROSCOPY

Two-color resonant four-wave mixing (TC-RFWM) spectroscopy has been us ed to probe highly excited v = 0 and v = 1 Rydberg states of nitric ox ide. Transitions to n = 16-30, v = 0, Rydberg states, and the 8p, 9p, 7f, 8f, 8s, and 9s, v = 1 Rydberg states from the A (2)Sigma(+), v' = 0 and 1 states have been recorded. The decay rate of the 8p and 9p, v = 1 states has been extracted from the observed line profiles by using a recently developed model for the excitation of quasibound resonance s in TC-RFWM spectroscopy. Transitions from the A (2)Sigma(+), v' = 1 state to the X (2)Pi(3/2), v '' = 10 state have also been observed, al lowing an absolute calibration of the TC-RFWM signal intensity. This c alibration is used to determine an excited-state absorption cross sect ion for the 9p, v = 1 Rydberg state. (C) 1998 American Institute of Ph ysics. [S0021-9606(98)01625-0].