The Comet-Tail (A(2)Pi(i)-X(2)Sigma(+)) System of (12)C(16)O(+): A Reinvestigation

The emission spectrum of the comet-tail (A(2)Pi(i)-X(2)Sigma(+)) system of (12)C(16)O(+) produced in the cathode glow of a hollow-cathode discharge tube and photographed in the spectral region 3345-8500 ? at high resolution was reinvestigated. Detailed rotational analysis of 10 bands involving 5 vibrational levels v = 0 to 4 of each of the A and X states was carried out. Spin-splitting of the rotational levels was observed for the analyzed bands. The observed intensity distribution of the branches is found to be in good agreement with theoretical calculations. Molecular constants for both the A and X states were obtained from a global fit of the present data of the A-X system and the infrared and microwave data available from the literature for v = 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 of state X, using effective Hamiltonian for the A(2)Pi state and matrix elements for both A and X states. The present work suggests that the A(2)Pi(i) state changes from Hund's case (a) at low J values to Hund's case (b) at high J values. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.