Observations on the Yellow Nitrogen Afterglow Bands at Low Pressure and the Radiative Lifetimes of the B 3Πg and A 3Σu+ States of Nitrogen

Abstract

The rotational profile of the (11, 7) first positive band in active nitrogen is shown to be pressure dependent in the range 0.05 to 1.0 torr. The effect is ascribed to rotational relaxation of nitrogen molecules in the B ³Π(v=11) level, and this interpretation leads to an estimation of tentative lower limits to the radiative lifetimes of B ³Π(v=11) and A ³Σ(v=0) of (2.4±0.5)×10⁻⁶ sec and 12±2.4 sec, respectively.