Rovibrational quantum state resolution of the C ₆₀ fullerene

C 60 at high resolution It generally takes more energy for molecules to vibrate than to rotate. A vibrational absorption band thus encompasses many distinct concurrent rotational transitions, but these tend to blur together when the molecules have more than a few atoms. Changala et al. succeeded in cooling C 60 fullerenes sufficiently to obtain rotational resolution within a C–C stretching band. Success hinged on careful optimization of argon buffer gas flow. Such quantum state–resolved features could aid characterization of fullerene-type compounds in exotic environments such as interstellar space. Science , this issue p. 49