A HIGH-RESOLUTION STUDY OF THE <i>C</i> 3Π<i>u</i> → <i>B</i> 3Π<i>g</i>(0, 0) STIMULATED TRANSITIONS IN N*2

Abstract

High-resolution spectroscopy was performed on the C 3Πu → B 3Πg(0, 0) band of N2 using a crossed-grating Echelle spectrograph. The large incremental gain of these transitions produces significant line narrowing which permits wavelength measurements to a relative accuracy of one part in 107. Observed lines have been identified as 27 P branch and 2 R branch transitions distributed among the Π0, Π1, and Π2 spin multiplet sets, and extending from lower level J = 4 to J = 15. Each transition in the Π0 set is observed to originate from the lower Λ component level. A calculation of the relative gain which treats the electron excitation in the optical limit indicates the dominance of these transitions.