Resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization spectra of molecules and molecular fragments. Annual technical report, March 1991--February 1992

Resonance Enhanced Multiphoton Ionization (REMPI) utilizes pulsed laser radiation to prepare a molecule in an excited state via absorption of one or more photons and to subsequently ionize that state before it can decay. The overall objective of this effort is to carry out theoretical studies of these REMPI processes in molecules and molecular fragments which are designed to provide a robust analysis and prediction of key spectral features of interest in several experimental studies and applications of this technique. A specific and very important objective of the effort is to predict the vibrational and rotational ion distributions which result from REMPI of representative molecules and to understand the underlying mechanisms that give use to these ion distributions. The author highlights progress made during this period