A1∑+ State Lifetime and Predissociation of CuH

A combined cavity ringdown (CRD) and laser induced fluorescence (LIF) spectroscopic study on the A¹∑⁺-X¹∑⁺ transition of CuH has been presented.The CuH molecule,as well as its deuterated isotopologue CuD,are produced in a supersonic jet expansion by discharging H₂(or D₂) and Ar gas mixtures using two copper needles.Different profiles of relative line intensities are observed between the measured LIF and CRD spectra,providing an experimental evidence for the predissociation behavior in the A¹∑⁺ state of CuH.The lifetimes of individual upper rotational levels are measured by LIF,in which the J'-dependent predissociation rates are obtained.Based on the previous theoretical calculations,a predissociation mechanism is concluded due to the strong spin-orbit coupling between the A¹∑⁺ state and the lowest-lying triplet ³∑⁺ state,and a tunneling effect may also be involved in the predissociation.Similar experiments are also performed for CuD,showing that the A¹∑⁺ state of CuD does not undergo a predissociation process.