Journal of Physical Chemistry A, Vol.102, No.26, 4972-4975, 1998
Collisional quenching of Hg-2 (AO(g)(+))
The rate constants for quenching of the metastable AO(g)(+) state of Hg-2 in two and three body collisions with background Hg atoms have been measured by a pump-probe, laser-induced fluorescence technique. The Hg-2 (AO(g)(+)) species was produced by photoassociating thermal HS-Hg pairs at 266 nm which populates the D1(u) level of Hg-2. Subsequent collisions relax the dimer into the AO(g)(+) state. The temporal history of the A state number density was monitored by driving the GO(u)(+) <-- AO(g)(+) transition in the yellow (lambda similar to 564 nm) and observing GO(u)(+) --> XOg+ emission in the ultraviolet (lambda similar to 210-240 nm). The two and three body rate constants for quenching of Hg-2 (AO(g)(+)) by Hg were measured to be (4.5 +/- 3.0) x 10(-15) cm(3).s(-1) and (1.8 +/- 0.4) x 10(-33) cm(6).s(-1), respectively.