Threshold photoelectron spectroscopy of vibrationally excited nitrogen

Threshold photoelectron spectroscopy (TPES) has been used to study flowing nitrogen subjected to a microwave discharge. The first three photoelectron (PE) bands of nitrogen corresponding to the ionizations N2+ (X2Σ+g) v+ ← N2 (X1Σ+g) v″, N2+ (A2Πu) v+ ← N2 (X1Σ+g) v″ and N2+ (B2Σ+u) v+ ← N2 (X1Σ+g) v″ were investigated. An analysis of the vibrationally resolved threshold photoelectron (TPE) spectra shows evidence of population of the vibrational levels v″ = 0–5 in the N2 X1Σ+g neutral state. By a comparison with the PE spectrum recorded under the same conditions, use of computed Franck–Condon factors for each ionization and evidence from vacuum ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy, the relative intensities of vibrational components in a TPE band can be qualitatively explained using the Franck–Condon factors for each ionization as well as the gain in intensity from autoionization from Rydberg states that are degenerate with an ionization threshold or lie just above a threshold. The enhancement in intensity obtained in the TPE spectra, relative to the intensity in a PE spectrum recorded under the same conditions, was estimated as at least one order of magnitude. The first band of atomic nitrogen was also observed in the discharge-on TPE spectra. The experimental resolution was sufficiently good to allow the three ionizations N+(3P0,1,2) ← N(4S3/2) to be resolved and their relative component intensities were measured as 1: 0.95 ± 0.10: 0.70 ± 0.10. The complementary nature of the TPES and PES techniques has been outlined and the extra information obtained from studying a vibrationally excited small molecule such as N2 with these methods has been demonstrated. (paper)