Spectroscopic and kinetic studies of the VUV emissions of krypton

In the VUV range, the spectra of krypton, at pressures of a few hundred torr, consist of continuous emissions that are characteristic of Kr 2 * molecules. A time resolved study of the second continuum of krypton ( lambda =145 nm) has allowed the authors to establish a scheme of the formation and decay kinetics of the excited species that is responsible for this emission. The radiative molecular state has a lifetime of tau 2 =250+or-20 ns, it is formed by two- and three-body collisions from an intermediate molecular state at a frequency 1/ tau 3 =18.6 p 2 +3.9*10 3 p s -1 (p in torr).