Time of flight measurement of N₂ and N₂⁺ lifetimes

Lifetime measurements have been carried out on the N 2 first positive and N 2 + Meinel systems by observing the spatial decay of radiation from fast beams. The neutral beam is excited by near-resonant charge transfer, and the N 2 + excitation originates in the ion source. The (2,0), (3,0), (3,1), (5,2), (9,5), and (12,8) first positive bands have been measured and the results compare favorably with Jeunehomme's values. The Meinel studies are apparently the first to yield well-defined values for that system. We obtained 12.2 ± 0.2, 11.4 ± 0.2, and 12.2 ± 0.9 μs for the ν' = 3, 4, and 5 levels, respectively.