Collisionless intramolecular energy transfer in vibrationally excited SF6

Infared-infrared double resonance measurements of the ν₃ absorption band of SF₆ using a CO₂ TEA pump laser (0.3 J/cm² maximum excitation) and a cw CO₂ probe laser have been carried out. These measurements probe both the coherent and quasi-continuum phases of the multiphoton dissociation process in SF₆. The spectral and temporal dependences of the induced absorption are obtained. The results give the first direct measurement of collisionless intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution times in a vibrationally excited complex molecule; for an excess energy of three quanta deposited in the ν₃ mode of SF₆, the ν₃ mode comes into equilibrium with all the remaining vibrational degrees of freedoom with a 3 ± 1 μs time constant.