Collision dynamics and transition probabilities for vibrationally excited OH

Vibrationally excited OH is a significant source of infrared emission in the upper atmosphere. Modeling the nonequilibrium processes responsible for the emission between vibrational levels in the ground state (called the Meinel bands) requires values for absolute transition probabilities and vibrational energy transfer rate constants for OH. However, the accuracy of currently available information is questionable. Most experimental studies have used the Meinel band emission itself to measure these quantities, with limited success. The development of a new laser induced fluorescence method for detecting high lying vibrational levels of OH is described.