Long-lived high-Rydberg molecules formed by electron impact: H2, D2, N2, and CO

Abstract

High-Rydberg (HR) molecules of H2, D2, N2, and CO have been observed with lifetimes of the order of 100 μsec. They are stable with respect to predissociation and autoionization and have sufficiently long radiative lifetimes to be detected because they are formed in states of high orbital angular momentum (ℓ). These high-Rydberg molecules are produced by electron impact and are detected by electric field ionization. The measurements used to characterize them are time of flight (TOF) distributions, principal quantum number (n) distributions, excitation functions, and absolute cross sections.