Quenching and vibrational energy transfer in Li2(B 1Πu)

Radiative lifetimes, quenching, and excitation transfer in the v′ = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 vibrational levels of Li2(B 1Πu) are studied by means of time resolved laser spectroscopy in a heat pipe type oven. Radiative lifetimes in the range 8.35–8.6 ns compare well with recent theoretical results. Quenching and excitation transfers towards neighboring vibrational levels are mainly due to collision with Li atoms with rate coefficients in the range 1.9–5.6 10−9 s−1 cm3. These values are two orders of magnitude larger than the rate coefficients for quenching and exitation transfers induced by neon atoms. These results can be used in the rate equations of the optically pumped Li2 laser.