A spectroscopic investigation of the lowest electronic states of the I+2 cation as a candidate for detecting the time variation of fundamental constants

The four lowest ohm substates (X2 pi 3/2,g, X2 pi 1/2,g, A2 pi 3/2,u and A2 pi 1/2,u) of the I+2 cation have been studied by highprecision ab initio calculations in comparison with experimental high-resolution absorption spectra. The potential energy curves were calculated using the multi-reference configuration interaction (MRCI) method and Dirac method, respectively. Rovibrational levels of these electronic states were derived by solving the radial Schro center dot dinger rovibrational equation. Molecular constants were obtained in fitting energy levels to a spectroscopic model. Using the fit spectroscopic constants and newly calculated transition dipole moment matrix elements, line strengths of vibronic bands in the A2 pi 3/2,u- X2 pi 3/2,g system, as well as Einstein A coefficients for 45 of these bands with nu ' = 11-19 and nu '' = 1-5, have been derived. The Einstein A coefficients were used to compute radiative lifetimes of the nu ' = 11-19 vibrational levels of the A2 pi 3/2,u state. Enhancement factors for detecting the variation of the fine-structure constant (alpha) and the proton-to-electron mass ratio(mu) using transitions between nearly degenerate rovibronic levels of these low-lying states have been calculated.