Reprint of: Femtosecond transition-state spectroscopy of iodine: From strongly bound to repulsive surface dynamics

The application of femtosecond transition-state spectroscopy (FTS) to molecular iodine is reported. The real-time motion of wave packets prepared coherently in the bound B state is observed. In addition, the motion is probed near and above the dissociation limit for the reaction: I2 → I (2P3/2) + I∗(2P1/2). FTS measurements of the dynamics on repulsive surfaces are also reported.