THE SOURCE OF GREEN LIGHT-EMISSION DETERMINED FROM A HEAVY-ION STORAGE-RING EXPERIMENT

The final electronic states of oxygen atoms formed by dissociative rec ombination of O-2(+) with cold electrons have been measured by an imag ing technique at a heavy-ion storage ring. The P-3, D-1, and S-1 quant um yield for O-2(+) in the vibrational ground level was found to be 0. 86, 1.09, and 0.05, respectively. The yield of the S-1 state, which is responsible for the 5577 angstrom green light from upper planetary at mospheres, was more than an order of magnitude larger than the theoret ical value used in atmospheric models. The results may help refine the models of the chemistry and dynamics of the ionosphere and provide gu idance for further quantum-chemistry calculations.