Study of Intramolecular Dynamics of Highly Energised Small Molecules Using Laser Spectroscopic Techniques

Abstract

Our research group at MIT is attempting to extract information about the structure and dynamics of small, gas phase molecules based on nontraditional experimental methods and statistical pattern recognition approaches to molecular spectra. The goal of one such study is to understand the fundamental excitation and decay mechanisms that govern intramolecular vibrational and electronic energy flow in small polyatomic molecules by studying triplet and / or singlet states of acetylene.1–4 Another current study is focussed on the mechanisms of energy exchange between electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom, through the spectroscopic study of Rydberg states of diatomic molecules.5 In this paper our recent results and future plans for studies of triplet states of small polyatomic molecules will be reviewed and the other intramolecular dynamical studies will be mentioned briefly.