A LABORATORY STUDY OF C{sub 3}H{sup +} AND THE C{sub 3}H RADICAL IN THREE NEW VIBRATIONALLY EXCITED {sup 2}Σ STATES USING A PIN-HOLE NOZZLE DISCHARGE SOURCE
Rotational lines of the positive molecular ion C{sub 3}H{sup +} and of the neutral C{sub 3}H radical in three new vibrationally excited states with {sup 2}Σ symmetry have been detected in a supersonic molecular beam in the centimeter-wave band. The fundamental rotational line of the ion is quite weak, but is observed with similar intensity in a dc discharge through several different hydrocarbon gases when helium is the buffer gas. Under these conditions, the fractional abundance of C{sub 3}H{sup +} relative to C{sub 3}H is estimated to be of order 10{sup −4}, i.e., toward the lower end of the ratio (10{sup −3}–10{sup −4}) found for protonated ions using the same discharge nozzle. For each new {sup 2}Σ state of the C{sub 3}H radical, spectroscopic constants, including those describing hydrogen hyperfine structure, have been determined to high precision. Lines of one {sup 2}Σ state (B = 11271 MHz) are particularly intense in our molecular beam; for this state and a second one (B = 11306 MHz), millimeter-wave transitions have also been observed between 180 and 340 GHz using a long path dc glow absorption spectrometer. On the basis of intensity measurements with this spectrometer, the inferred rotation–vibration constant α, and theoretical calculations, the state with B = 11271 MHz is tentatively assigned to the ν{sub 5} bending mode, predicted to lie ∼300 cm{sup −1} above ground.