Abstract

Transition state spectroscopy works to determine quantitative information about the interaction potential for atoms at geometries corresponding to the transition state of a chemical reaction by measuring their vibrationally and, if possible, rotationally resolved spectra. Using the finite lifetimes of vibrationally quasibound states, significant progress in this direction has been made.^1,2 Another approach to transition state spectroscopy is to pick systems where the vibrational states with amplitude near the transition state of the chemical reaction are stationary states, that is, an isomerization reaction.

© 1990 Optical Society of America