LIFETIMES AND RYDBERG-VALENCE STATE MIXING OF THE C'1-SIGMA(G)(+)(UPSILON=4) AND C(1)PI(U)(UPSILON=4) STATES OF N-2

We have measured the rotational dependence of the absorption linewidth of transitions from the v = 0 a'' 1SIGMA(g)+ state to the v = 4 levels of the 3psigma,3ppi complex of N2. We compare our results with a model that describes the electronic and rotational mixing between the Rydberg and valence states. We find that the linewidths correlate with the magnitude of the electronic admixture of the character of the b' 1SIGMA(u)+ valence state. This suggests that predissociation of the Rydberg states is mediated by the b' 1SIGMA(u)+ state, which in turn is predissociated by a manifold of triplet valence states.