Rotational structure variation in the 3371-nm N_2 laser transition

The rotational structure in N2 laser radiation at 337.1 nm was recorded on a 10.7-m concave grating spectrograph for nitrogen gas pressures of 25, 75, and 760 Torr. The variation in the relative intensities of rotational lines obtained from microdensitometer traces is discussed in terms of rotational deexcitation in the upper laser level. The effect of argon at 10 Torr in the low-pressure lasers is also described.