UV and IR absorption spectra of C3 embedded in solid para-hydrogen

This paper presents the UV and IR absorption spectroscopy of small carbon molecules of C3 observed using a high-resolution Fourier-transform spectrometer. The C3 molecules were produced by irradiation of dimers or larger clusters of acetylene with an ArF laser (λ=193 nm). Sharp UV absorption features with multiple structures were observed in the A-tilde1Πu <- X-tilde1Σg+ electronic transition of C3. The sharp UV absorption demonstrates the potential of solid para-hydrogen as a matrix for high-resolution spectroscopy of UV-vis electronic transitions