Electronic spectroscopy of jet-cooled iron monocarbide. The 3Δi←3Δi transition near 493 nm

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Abstract
We report the first gas phase spectroscopic study of iron monocarbide. FeC molecules were generated in a laser vaporization molecular beam source and detected by laser induced fluorescence. Twenty-six vibronic bands have been recorded in the 430–500 nm region. Rotational analyses have been carried out for 22 of the bands. There are three lower states involved, two with Ω″=2 and one with Ω″=3. Based on our experimental observations and the ab initio calculations on RuC [Shim et al. J. Phys. Chem. 91, 3171 (1987)] the observed bands are interpreted as 3Δi←3Δi and 1Δ←1Δ transitions. The ground state electronic configuration is assigned to 1δ39σ1. Evidence for three excited electronic states (one 3Δi state, one 1Δ state and another state with Ω′=3) and for perturbations in several of their vibrational levels is presented.