Correlation of electron spin resonance and optical absorption of K atoms in solid Ar

Abstract

Electron spin resonance (ESR) and optical absorption spectra of K atoms embedded in Ar matrices have been measured simultaneously. ESR and optical spectra could be correlated comparing the effects of annealing and light induced site modifications. Electron spin relaxation times were estimated by saturation measurements. A large variety of ESR spectra was found which could be arranged into four groups according to their A and g factor matrix shifts. Two of these groups could be correlated with optical absorptions namely with the so-called red and blue triplet bands. The other two groups belong to K-(H2O)n complexes. Part of the absorption disappeared irreversibly upon annealing at about 12 K. There is considerable experimental evidence that this annealing process indicates the transition from an amorphous to a microcrystalline structure at about 12 K.