Absorption, excitation, and resonance raman spectra of Ce-2, Pr-2, and Nd-2

We report the absorption, resonance Raman, and excitation spectra of mass s elected cerium, praseodymium, and neodymium dimers in argon matrices. Absor ption bands were found for each sample. The excitation profiles give more s ensitive detail and resemble absorption spectra. Resonance Raman spectra gi ve single progressions for which Ce-2: omega(e)=245.4 +/- 4.2 cm(-1), Pr-2: omega(e)=244.9 +/- 1.2 cm(-1), and Nd-2: omega(e)=148.0 +/- 1.9 cm(-1), om ega(e)x(e)=0.7 +/- 0.4 cm(-1). Comparison among lanthanide dimers is discus sed. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-9606(00)00530-4].