Centrifugal Distortion Analysis of the Microwave and Millimeter Wave Spectra of Deuterated Ketenes1,2

Abstract

Measurements of R and Q branch a-type pure rotational transitions in the frequency range from 8 GHz to 220 GHz are reported for ketene-d1 and ketene-d2. The microwave and millimeter wave transitions were analysed in terms of Watson’s reduced Hamiltonian, including the sextic terms HKJ and HJK. The values of the inertial defect and the τ defect obtained from the centrifugal distortion analysis are in accord with the planar model for the ketene molecule.