High-resolution study of the NO E ²Σ⁺ ← A ²Σ⁺ transition by pulsed-cw double resonance

A new experimental technique which combines the high power of a pulsed laser with the narrow bandwidth of a single mode cw laser has been used to study the NO (E 2Σ+, ν = 0 ← A 2Σ+, ν = 0) transition under high resolution in a molecular beam. The spin-rotation splitting in the E state has been analyzed and shows the effect of a heterogeneous perturbation between the E 2Σ+, ν = 0 and the B 2Π, ν = 17 state. Time-resolved E→A fluorescence spectra show redisual effects of Rabi oscillations and can be correctly described using the optical Bloch equations for a two-level system, including radiative losses