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Updated: Aug 23, 2026

Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation
Published on: February 4, 2017
Rotational energy transfer in NO (A 2Sigma+,v'=0) by N2 and O2 at room temperature
Seonkyung Lee1, Jorge Luque, Julie Reppel
1Molecular Physics Laboratory, SRI International, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA.
Abstract:
State-to-state rotational energy transfer (RET) rate coefficients for NO (A 2Sigma+, v'=0, J=5.5, 11.5, 17.5) were measured for N2 and O2 at room temperature using a pump-probe method. The NO A 2Sigma+ state is prepared by 226 nm light and the RET is monitored by fluorescence from the D 2Sigma+ v'=0 state, following excitation by a time-delayed laser at approximately 1.1 microm. Additionally, total collisional removal and final state distributions were measured exciting in the Q1+P21 band head, to simulate an NO laser-induced fluorescence atmospheric monitoring scheme. Time-resolved modeling is used to understand relaxation mechanisms and predict relaxation times in ambient air. H2O at atmospherically relevant concentrations does not affect the degree of RET in ambient air.
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