The carbon is photoelectron spectrum of CO��� has been measured with very high photon energy resolution. The natural lifetime of the carbon is hole state has been determined from a series of spectra taken at photon energies of 308, 320, and 330 eV. The measured values of the lifetimes show a dependence on photon energy; this is attributed to failure of the theory of post-collision interaction to predict correctly the observed electron spectrum near threshold. The lifetime widths reported here are critically compared with those values from the literature that are based on other spectroscopic techniques. The oxygen 1s photoelectron spectrum for CO��� has been calculated using ab initio electronic structure theory, a localized hole simulated by the equivalent-cores approximation, and the harmonic oscillator approximation. There is good agreement between the calculated spectrum and a recently reported experimental spectrum. / Graduation date: 1999

Graduation date: 1992

Graduation date: 1994