To gain insight into the possible magnitude of vibrational activation/deactivation rate constants for large
molecules with the high vibrational excitation of thermal unimolecular reactions, absolute vibrational relaxation
rate constants have been measured in S1
p-difluorobenzene energy regions where the vibrational levels begin
to form a quasi-continuum. The measured rate constants define vibrational energy transfer from three initially
pumped S1 levels into the surrounding vibrational field. The observed rate constants are about 60% of the
Lennard-Jones value for the collision partner Ar and about 40% for He. The initial levels lie in the εvib range
2887 to 3310 cm-1, where the level densities are approximately 800−2000 per cm-1. New He rate constants
are also measured for many lower initial levels. When combined with earlier measurements, the He and Ar
rate constants span the range 0 ≤ εvib ≤ 3310 cm-1. Both sets of rate constants show a trend to larger values
with increasing εvib and have prominent variations in response to the zero order quantum identity of the
initial level. When the high level density starts to create overlapping states, the Ar rate constants for the three
highest levels appear to have leveled off, and the initial quantum state variations are damped out. The He rate
constants, on the other hand, sustain the trend to larger values even at the highest energies where the data are
ambiguous on whether initial quantum state sensitivity persists.