ROTATIONAL STATE DEPENDENCE OF THE PREDISSOCIATION DYNAMICS IN H2O, D2O (C(B-1)1 AND B(A-1)1)

The two photon photodissociation of H//2O, D//2O (C**1B//1) from individually selected J prime (Ka prime Kc prime ) rotational levels in the (000) vibrational level has been investigated experimentally using a line-narrowed, tunable KrF laser. The results establish a strong dependence on the magnitude of LT AN BR Ja prime **2 RT AN BR ** one-half congruent Ka prime , both for the heterogeneous predissociation path and for the subsequent branching on the B**1A//1 potential at the Renner-Teller intersection with A**1B//1 near linearity.