Vibrational overtone spectroscopy and intramolecular dynamics of ethene.

The first through fourth C-H stretching overtone regions of ethene were measured by photoacoustic spectroscopy of room-temperature molecules and action spectroscopy of jet-cooled molecules. The rotational cooling led to improved resolution in the action spectra, turning these spectra into key players in determining the multiple band appearance in each region, their types, and origins. These manifolds arise from strong couplings of the C-H stretches to doorway states and were analyzed in terms of a simplified joint local-mode/normal-mode (LM)/(NM) model and an equivalent NM model, accounting for principal resonances. The diagonalization of the LM/NM and NM vibrational Hamiltonians and the least-square fittings revealed model parameters, enabling assignment of A- and B-type bands. These bands behave differently through the V = 2-4 manifolds, showing coupling to doorway states for the former but not for the latter. The energy flow out of the fourth C-H overtone is governed by the interaction with bath states due to the increase in the density of states.