Light emission of electron impact excited hydrogen molecules and the dependence of electronic transition moment on internuclear distance

Abstract

By studying the intensity of light emitted by hydrogen molecules, which have been excited by keV electrons, the dependence of the electronic transition moment on internuclear distance can be determined over a wide region. Experimentally it was found for the Werner band system that the quantity ``transition energy times electronic transition moment'' is a constant between 0.6 and 1.6 Å as predicted by theory. Several vibrational bands exhibit strong intensity perturbations, especially the 3 → ν″ progression.