Vibrational population of molecules of HgBr(<i>B</i>2<i>Σ</i>+,<i>v</i>′) in cryomatrices of xenon and nitrogen
Abstract
It is experimentally observed that in a system of electronically excited molecules of HgBr(B2Σ+,v′), in cryogenic matrices, there may arise an inversion of the populations of the vibrational levels v′. The population of the HgBr(B2Σ+,v′), molecules at high vibrational levels takes place as a result of dissociation of the original impurity molecules of HgBr2 upon excitation of the cryomatrix by an electron beam. The crystal field of the matrix results in the appearance of an additional powerful mechanism for dissociative population of HgBr(B2Σ+,v′) due to the splitting of the 2P3/2 level of the bromine atom, which is a product of the dissociation. The existence of a population inversion suggests an anomalously weak vibrational relaxation of the HgBr(B2Σ+,v′) in the cryogenic matrix.