Study of collisional dynamics in highly excited Li$_{2}$

Energy transfer during molecular collisions is a fundamental process in astronomy and chemistry. As Li$_{2}$ is a relatively simple molecule, it has been possible to model collisions of its low-lying excited state with ground state atoms for some years. We now intend to experimentally measure collisions involving much higher energy levels: studying the vibrational inelastic collisions and dissociation for molecules starting in the A (1 $^{1}\Sigma _{u}^{+}$,$\nu $' $>$45) states, and working towards studies of V-R coupling in the ``shelf'' region of the E (3 $^{1}\Sigma _{g}^{+})$ state. To carry out these experiments, we are using a dual pulsed dye laser system. We have recently demonstrated that we can measure equivalent rate constants using either pulsed or cw excitation.