Ultraviolet spectra of vibrationally highly excited CS2 molecules

Vibrationally highly excited CS2 molecules with energies close to the dissociation energy of the electronic ground state have been prepared by laser excitation at 308 and 351 nm. The UV spectra recorded are compared with UV spectra from CS2 molecules excited thermally in shock waves at temperatures up to 4000 K. A numerical representation of the absorption coefficients as a function of the average excitation energy of the molecules is given.