Kinetics of processes occurring in an oxygen-iodine laser

Attention is drawn to the important role played by vibrationally excited oxygen molecules in the kinetics of an oxygen-iodine laser. It is suggested that the presence of vibrationally excited molecules in chemically produced oxygen may be largely responsible for rapid dissociation of molecular iodine added to oxygen. Possible experimental ways, based on coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering spectroscopy, are suggested for testing this hypothesis.