Interatomic potentials of HgXe van der Waals complex formed in supersonic jets as studied by laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy

The laser induced fluorescence spectra of HgXe formed in a supersonic free jet of a He/Xe/Hg mixture were observed to determine the interatomic potentials between Hg and Xe in the X 10+, A 30+, and B 31 states. The dissociation energies for the X, A, and B states are 254, 1457, and 172 cm−1, respectively, with the equilibrium interatomic distances of 4.25, 3.25, and 4.47 Å for the respective states. It is found that the potential shape for the X and B states can be represented in good approximation by a Morse function, though this function may not reproduce the potential for the A state especially in the vicinity of high vibrational levels (v′>16).