15min:
CAVITY RINGDOWN SPECTROSCOPY OF THE DARK A ~2 E'' STATE OF NO3.

A. DEEV, J. SOMMAR AND M. OKUMURA, Arthur Amos Noyes Laboratory of Chemical Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125.

The forbidden A ~2 E'' - X ~2A' transition of NO3 has been observed in the near IR (1.1-1.5 micron) by cavity ringdown spectroscopy. Several new vibronically allowed bands are recorded, and definitive vibrational assignments and rotational contour analysis will be presented, allowing for a more precise estimate of the band origin. The influence of the Jahn-Teller effect on the transition structure will be discussed.