Carbon atoms in the high energy metastable state 2p2 1S0 have been detected for the first time in multiphoton dissociation of some aromatic molecules, using tunable laser light in the region of 380 to 393 nm. The detection is based on the two-photon resonances2p1S0 → → 3p1D2 and 2p1S0 → → 3p1S0 three-photon ionization of atomic carbon, following the dissociation of the molecule, during the same laser pulse. The results are of particular interest in the field of nonlinear photochemistry.
