10min:

VADIM STAKHURSKY, ILIAS SIOUTIS, VLADIMIR LOZOVSKY, TERRY A. MILLER AND C. BRADLEY MOORE, Laser Spectroscopy Facility, Department of Chemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210.

Methoxy radical (CH₃O) is an important intermediate in the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels. It is also an interesting target for theoretical studies, since the doubly degenerate ground X ²E electronic state exhibits Jahn-Teller (JT) activity. Upon asymmetric deuteration the electronic state splits into two pseudo-degenerate states. To address the issue of the reduction of symmetry in JT active systems we report the laser excited, dispersed fluorescence (DF) spectra of CHD₂O. A comprehensive model Hamiltonian which includes linear and quadratic JT coupling terms is developed and used to assign ground state vibronic levels up to 2000 cm^-1 above the vibrationless level. The experimental observations and intensity simulations for 5 DF traces, from the 3⁴, 3²5^{/ 1}, 3² 5^ // 1, 3² 6^{/ 1}, 3² 6^{// 1} vibrational levels of the A ² A' state, will be presented.