MOLECULAR PHOTODISSOCIATION DYNAMICS REVEALED BY MULTIPHOTON IONIZATION SPECTROSCOPY

This study highlights the utility of multiphoton ionization spectroscopy to studies of the predissociation dynamics of Rydberg states in small polyatomic molecules. Predissociation from various of the excited states of H//2O, H//2S and their respective deuterated analogs is demonstrated to be a sensitive function of parent rotational level and to be critically affected by H B ARR LR D isotopic substitution and by accidental near resonances with more heavily predissociated 'doorway' states which provide more efficient coupling into the background continuum of dissociative levels.