Ultraviolet Excitation of Rare Gas-Halogen (fluorine, Chlorine) and Rare Gas-Oxygen Cryogenic Solutions.

This thesis presents the spectroscopic results of approximately two and a half years of research, involving laser-excited cryogenic liquid solutions in the ultraviolet spectral region. In Chapter I, the essence of the problem and its implications to the nature of this thesis, are discussed. In Chapter II, the electronic structure and gas phase optical properties of the excimers of interest, namely, the rare gas-halide dimers, and rare gas-halide trimers, and the rare gas-oxide dimers are reviewed. Chapter III contains a description of the experimental arrangement used for these studies. In Chapter IV, the experimental results are presented, and the criteria for band identification are discussed. From these, a consistent picture in which all spectral features are red-shifted with respect to the gas phase is derived. In Chapter V, the primary mechanisms for the deposition of optical energy in the liquid phase are proposed. Chapter VI contains a theoretical model for the interaction of solute dipolar molecules with the liquid host. This model reproduces the experimental data to a good degree of accuracy and also, has predictive power. In Chapter VII, the principal aspects and conclusions, derived from these studies, are summarized. Also, some ideas concerning applications and future investigations of these novel type of materials, are presented. Finally, appendices A and B contain the spectral data for the rare gas-fluorine and rare gas-chlorine liquid solutions, respectively.