The spin–orbit induced predissociation dynamics of HCl+ ions: rotational islands of stability

The spin–orbit induced predissociation dynamics of the A2Σ+(v;N) rovibronic states of HCl+ has been investigated by numerical solution of four coupled time-dependent Schrödinger equations based on ab initio data. The rotational dependence of the predissociation lifetime exhibits pronounced peaks with lifetimes up to one order of magnitude larger than that of neighboring levels. The origin and possible applications of these `rotational islands of stabilityʹ are discussed.