Optical Kerr effect induced by a Raman resonance in liquid oxygen

A study was made of the optical Kerr effect spectra of liquid oxygen at T = 80 °K in the region of a resonance with an intramolecular vibration of O₂ at Ω₀ = 1552 cm^–1. In addition to a strong resonance line at Ω₀, the spectrum included a weak resonance shifted by 4 cm^–1 from Ω₀ due to the splitting of the ground electronic state of oxygen because of the interaction of spins of two unpaired electrons. It was found that the nonresonant electronic part of the polarizability of oxygen was small compared with the resonant contribution.