Optical–optical double resonance spectroscopy is used to obtain total rate constants, electronic branching ratios, and vibrational product state distributions for non-adiabatic transitions among the first-tier ion-pair states of the I
2 molecule excited to the
![View the MathML source View the MathML source](http://www.sciencedirect.com/cache/MiamiImageURL/B6TFN-4S9P5T7-3-R/0?wchp=dGLzVzz-zSkWW)
;
JE ≈ 55 rovibronic levels in collisions with M = CD
3I and CH
3COCH
3. It is shown that
![View the MathML source View the MathML source](http://www.sciencedirect.com/cache/MiamiImageURL/B6TFN-4S9P5T7-3-14/0?wchp=dGLzVzz-zSkWW)
near-resonant transitions are caused by the interaction between the transition dipole moment of I
2(E–D) and the permanent electric dipole moment of
M. The I
2(D) state vibrational levels populated due to polarization interaction accompanied by quasi-resonance excitation of the collision partner are also observed.