Characterization of a metastable state of ozone by high-resolution Fourier transform spectrometry

We report a high-resolution study of the Wulf bands of ozone. A preliminary analysis of the rotational structure in two vibronic bands yields the band origin T-0 = 9555.49 +/- 0.25 cm(-1), the bending frequency omega(2) = 530.9 +/- 0.4 cm(-1) and geometries (R, theta) for the corresponding bound vibrational levels of the upper state, which is most likely to be (3)A(2). Rotational levels extend to at least 1090 cm(-1) above T-0. The radiative lifetime is approximate to 0.1-0.01 s, indicating the state's metastable character.