Inelastic collisions of excited lithium molecules

Energy transfer and reactions during molecular collisions are fundamental processes in astronomy and chemistry. The H$_{2}$ + H system has been well studied, and theoretical calculations are now becoming feasible for an excited lithium dimer colliding with a ground state lithium atom, increasing interest in corresponding experimental measurements. Our laboratory observes laser-induced fluorescence spectra from lithium vapor in a heat pipe oven. Our recent switch from a modest diode laser to a pulsed dye laser gives us new access to a variety of highly excited molecular states. Here we report our progress in measuring absolute level-to-level rate constants and collision-induced dissociation for molecular states of this system.