Spectroscopy is a field which has been instrumental in furthering our understanding of extraterrestrial bodies and molecular architecture. A commonly utilized technique in spectroscopic research is to measure the radiative lifetimes of excited states, as it has been demonstrated to be effective in understanding the molecular structures. Predictive calculations shared by colleague Dr. Seth Ashman of Providence College have shown that these lifetimes are likely to follow oscillatory trends at certain energy levels within the 6g+ state of molecular sodium. In this experiment, we attempt to examine the lifetimes at these energy levels through double resonance excitation and determine if the observed data matches the theory. We successfully collected initial data for the effective lifetime of the Au+(v=8) intermediate state between the ground and the 6g+ states. In comparison to the radiative lifetime, which was shown by previous work done in our lab, the effective lifetime is considerably shorter. This is likely caused by the presence of argon gas within the heat pipe, which could affect the spontaneous emission and-thus-decrease the lifetime of the excited molecule. Future work in our lab will have to explore the influence of pressure on the lifetime and use extrapolation to determine the radiative lifetime in a collision-free regime. While we have yet to obtain the radiative lifetime, our results have provided considerable insight into understanding important molecular properties.<\/p>\n
Author:<\/strong> Joseph W. Converse<\/p>\n Faculty Advisor:<\/strong> Dr. Burcin Bayram, Department of Physics<\/p>\n Graduate Student Advisor:<\/strong> Lok Raj Pant<\/p>\n