Ultrasensitive Absorption Spectroscopy in Planetary Studies:Intracavity Laser Measurements

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Drs. Atkinson, Hunten, and Lunine at the University of Arizona will use a broadly applicable laboratory spectroscopy technique to study the detailed characteristics of several absorption bands of methane and molecules of ammonia and hydrogen, and to perform low resolution broadband measurements of the 619 nanometer and 725 nanometer bands of methane, which have been studied with prior NSF support. Study of planetary atmospheres relies heavily on spectroscopic measurements of molecular absorption lines such as those of methane, ammonia, and hydrogen. Among the necessary data are molecular line intensities and collisional broadening ceofficients, particularly at low temperatures. Over the past two years Dr. Atkinson and colleagues have developed and validated an intracavity laser spectroscopy (ILS) technique which was used to measure line intensities and pressure broadening coefficients of narrow lines in the 619 nanometer band of methane. They also developed a technique for using ILS to make broadband, low resolution, measurements necessary for interpreting filter photometry. With the current grant these scientists will expand these ILS measurements to other wavelength bands and molecular species of interest in planetary sciences.