Photoexcitation of the NaKCl Reaction Complex

Abstract

Emission at the Na $D$ lines has been observed from the intersection of crossed molecular beams of K and NaCl irradiated by a cw dye laser in the wavelength range 600 to 700 nm. The signal is approximately independent of wavelength in this region but decreases near 700 nm. This three-beam signal is attributed to ${\mathrm{Na}}^{*}$ formed by photoexcitation of the NaKCl reaction complex. The effective two-body cross section is circa ${10}^{-21\mathrm{}}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^2$ in a laser field of ∼3000 W/${\mathrm{cm}}^2$.