High-Resolution Laser Spectroscopy of YbCl: The A(2)Pi-X(2)Sigma(+) Transition

The A(2)Pi-X(2)Sigma(+) transition of (174)Yb(35)Cl and (172)Yb(35)Cl has been rotationally analyzed for the first time. Doppler-limited laser excitation spectroscopy with selective detection of fluorescence was used to obtain spectra of the 0-0 and 1-0 bands with a measurement accuracy of approximately 0.0035 cm(-1). Resolved fluorescence was used to record the 0-1, 0-2, and 0-3 bands and to unequivocally assign the rotational numbering, N, to the laser excitation spectra. In total, over 1300 line positions have been measured and assigned for each of the two isotopomers and employed in least-squares fits of molecular parameters. The principal results for the A(2)Pi state are A(e) = 1491.494(2) cm(-1) and R(e) = 2.4433(1) ?, and for the X(2)Sigma(+) state, R(e) = 2.4883(2) ? and gamma(e) = 4.59(2) x 10(-3) cm(-1). The interaction between the X(2)Sigma(+) and A(2)Pi states has been investigated and is shown to be the main contributor to the spin-rotation splitting in the ground state. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.