FINE-STRUCTURE SELECTIVE PREDISSOCIATION OF O₂

The OI emission cross section and the absorption cross section of O₂ were investigated near the threshold for neutral dissociation into the OI state with a very narrow bandwidth (0.9 meV) of the exciting radiation. The fine-structure components of vibrational levels were resolved for the first time in the emission cross section. A certain degree of selectivity in the population of fine-structure components was observed.