VUV laser spectroscopy of the O/sub 2/ Schumann-Runge system near the dissociation limit

Summary form only given. We use high resolution laser spectroscopy and nonlinear optical techniques to perform sub-Doppler resolution measurements of atmospherically important molecules in the vacuum ultraviolet (/spl lambda/<200 nm). We present spectra for the Schumann-Runge band system of diatomic oxygen near the B-state dissociation limit (/spl sim/175 nm, /spl sim//spl nu/=18-22) where molecular predissociation is a major contributor to the transition width. Predissociation of molecular oxygen plays an important role in ozone formation, and consequently the predissociation rates derived from the transition linewidths and strengths are key inputs for atmospheric models.