Determination of the electric dipole moment of HN+2

The electric dipole moment of the linear molecular ion HN+2 was determined by measuring the isotope shifts of the rotational g factors of different isotopic species. We studied the Zeeman effect of the R(6) rotational transition at 650 GHz. In a magnetic field of 5.4 T the rotational transition split into two components, separated by 2.2–2.5 MHz. The gR factors were determined for H14N14N+, H14N15N+, and H15N14N+. The dipole moment for H14N14N+ was determined as (3.4±0.2) D, which is in excellent agreement with the theoretical value. The transitions were observed by direct absorption spectroscopy with a tunable FIR sideband spectrometer. The ions were generated in a modified anomalous discharge placed in a superconducting magnet.