Direct measurement of a pure rotation transition in H2(+).
The N = 1<--0 pure rotation transition in the nu = 19 level of the ground electronic state of H2(+) was observed at 14,961.7+/-1.1 MHz. Recent theory predicts significant electric dipole intensity in forbidden rotation and rotation-vibration transitions involving levels near the dissociation limit; the relevant levels are bound by only 0.74 and 0.22 cm(-1). The transition was predicted to have a transition moment of 0.42 D; our measurement is consistent with this value.
Critchley
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Department of Physics, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, United Kingdom.
Hughes
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McNab
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