CONTINUOUS WAVE OPTICALLY PUMPED IODINE LASER - SPECTROSCOPY AND LONG-RANGE ANALYSIS OF THE X1SIGMAG+ GROUND-STATE OF 1-2

Continuous wave oscillation is observed on transitions belonging to the I2 B 0u+-X1Σg+ system into highly excited vibrational levels of the ground state. The I2 laser is optically pumped with a single longitudinal mode argon ion laser oscillating at either 514.5 or 501.7 nm resulting in some 752 assigned laser lines throughout the visible and near infrared. Of these, 44 transitions have 83 ≤ v″ ≤ 96 and are used here to obtain rotational and vibrational constants for levels of X1Σg+ near the dissociation limit. A long range analysis applying the theory of LeRoy to the highest observed levels yields C6 = 1.1 ± 0.1 × 106 cm-1 Å-6 and indicates that the last bound vibrational level of X1Σg+ has v = 114. © 1979.