Kerr effect of molecular oxygen at λ=1064 nm. Experiment and theory
Résumé
We report a new measurement of the Kerr effect of molecular oxygen at λ= 1064 nm. The experimental value reported for the anisotropy of the index of refraction Δ nu l, (3.15±0.85)×10-25 m2 V-2 atm-1, is in good agreement with the value of 3.4×10-25 m2 V-2 atm-1 obtained via an ab initio calculation. We show that the dependence of the effect on the pressure is not linear because of the presence of a collision-induced absorption band around 1060 nm due to the transition from the X3 Σ- g ground state to the 1Δg state. We also give the value of the quadratic anisotropy Δnu q (-1.03±0.68)×10-25 m2 V-2 atm-2. We finally compare our ab initio theoretical and experimental results with previous existing data.