Abstract

Highly energized species are important in chemical reactions, atmospheric phenomena, chemical lasers, and a host of other environments. In particular, molecules containing large amounts of vibrational energy are the reactive species in many chemical systems. Using lasers to produce highly vibrationally excited molecules and to monitor their subsequent behavior allows us to probe reactions, collisions, and photodissociation of these molecules at the level of individual quantum states.

© 1989 Optical Society of America