The structure of several electronic states of the Hg–Ar complex as determined by laser double resonance in a supersonic jet

Abstract
The electronic states of the Hg–Ar complex have been studied in a supersonic free jet expansion using a laser double resonance technique. Detailed observations were made of the states correlating with the mercury 6 3P levels 3P0, 3P1, and 3P2. The states correlating with the 3P0 and 3P2 metastable states had not been studied previously since they are optically inaccessible from the ground state. A model was developed which accounts for the structures of the various states. The binding energies can be related simply to the average orientation of the 6p mercury orbital with respect to the internuclear axis. In addition, the Hg(7 3S1)–Ar Rydberg state was reinvestigated and shown conclusively to exhibit a double minimum potential, with a deep well similar to the Hg–Ar+ ion and a shallow van der Waals minimum at larger internuclear distances.

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