SATURATION PREDISSOCIATION SPECTROSCOPY - VIBRATIONAL TRANSITION MOMENTS OF HF DIMER

By saturating specific rovibrational transitions in (HF)(2) using a high-resolution, single-mode color center laser, the vibrational transition moments for two F-H stretches have been measured regardless of the internal state distribution of the clusters in the molecular beam. Details of the experimental procedure and data analysis are presented. A slight enhancement (similar to 10%) of the transition moment over the noncomplexed monomer value was observed for the proton acceptor. The proton donor transition moment was substantially enhanced by similar to 100% as a result of hydrogen bonding. These results are in excellent agreement with recent theoretical studies. This method is shown to serve as a useful gauge for estimating hydrogen bond interactions within molecular clusters.