RESONANCE-ENHANCED MULTIPHOTON IONIZATION SPECTROSCOPY OF $CH_{2}$ ($\tilde{X}^{3}B_{1}$)

Author Institution: Chemical Kinetics and Thermodynamics Division, National Institute of Standards and TechnologyWe report the first laser-based electronic spectroscopy of ground-state methylene radicals ($\tilde{X}^{3}B_{1}$). Methylene was produced by reaction of fluorine atoms with methyl radicals and detected by mass-resolved, 3 + 1 REMPI between 370 and 440 nm. Resonances with the $\tilde{B}^{3}$$A_{2}$(3d), $\tilde{C}$(3d), $\tilde{D}$(3d), and 4d $^{3}A_{2}$ Rydberg states of $CH_{2}$ and $CD_{2}$ have been identified between 70000 and $77500 cm^{-1}$ above the ground state