Replacing one molecular beam with a photolysis laser, we can apply the same techniques to the detection of product distributions resulting from the photodissociation of a suitable precursor molecule. In this case, state resolved angular distributions provide important information about the involved potential energy surfaces and the interactions governing the separation of the fragments. Similarly a van der Waals complex dissociates when a high frequency vibrational mode in one of the constituent molecules is excited. Because the product distribution provides information about the translational to vibrational energy transfer as well as sensitive data about the binding energy of the complex, these experiments complement the study of inelastic bimolecular collision processes. Data acquisition is accomplished through digital storage oscilloscopes or various boxcar integrators.
All experiments are fully computer controlled.
A complete package of software for the data analysis is available. Funding for this research is provided by the National Science Foundation. He , J. Phys. II Application to the NO-Ar complex , J. Chem.