High Resolution Laser Spectroscopy of Small Molecules and Clusters

The combination of high resolution laser spectroscopy in collimated cold molecular beams with mass selective detection allows investigations of rotationally resolved molecular spectra of selected molecular species in the presence of molecules with overlapping absorption spectra. This is illustrated by some examples, such as the isotope selective spectroscopy of Ag2–dimers or the sub-Doppler spectroscopy of Na3 in supersonic beam with a broad mass distribution of different clusters. Time resolved laser spectroscopy of excited states of alkali molecules, perturbed by bound dark states or by repulsive states, yields information about singlet–triplet mixing and predissociation rates.