Emission spectra and radiative lifetimes of the Cameron bands of CO trapped in solid rare gas matrices

Abstract

The emission spectrum of the Cameron bands (a 3Π→X1 Σ+) of CO molecules trapped in solid Ne, Ar, and Kr has been studied using Xe resonance lamp excitation (λ=147 nm). The lifetime of the a 3Π state has been measured in solid Ne and found to be 90 msec. The decay time of this state is exponential within the range of experimental errors. The lifetime has been calculated assuming spin–orbit mixing between 1Σ+ and 3Π0 states, and found to be 94 msec for J=0. The lifetime values in Ar and Kr matrices are found to be 7.2 and <1 msec, respectively; this is consistent with the matrix shifts in solid Ne, Ar, and Kr, which for the 0–0 bands have been found to be −305, −946, and −2812 cm−1, respectively.