RUI: High Resolution Spectroscopy of Stable Molecular Species and Free Radicals

实验物理化学项目的这一奖项支持两个本科机构--中央华盛顿大学和威斯康星大学拉克罗斯分校的物理系之间的合作努力。这两所大学都是公立的四年制综合性大学，主要研究人员指导学习物理、工程和化学的本科生。这项计划的研究内容将是加强我们对大气和星际自由基的了解。自由基是一种具有不成对电子的物质，通常不稳定，是在地球大气层和太空中发生的许多化学反应的重要中间体。利用各种高分辨率实验，将在电磁光谱的远红外区(红外和微波区之间的区域)研究几种自由基，如ND、FED和CH3O。为加强这些调查，将继续开展发现远红外激光谱线的工作。一旦探测到，这些激光谱线的频率将被测量到百万分之几的分数不确定度。其他研究稳定的对称和非对称顶端分子中的“被禁止”跃迁的光谱研究也在计划之中。这项研究是与一些访问学者合作进行的，其中包括英国牛津大学的教职员工和学生。自1999年以来，23名本科生和4名来访的研究生共同撰写了该研究实验室的19篇论文。在维持严格的研究计划的同时，主要调查人员将把教育努力集中在指导本科生上。从一年级到四年级的学生构成了研究团队的大部分。这一经历将为学生提供更深更广的教育经验，让他们在学术生涯早期接触研究，并为未来的专业努力和研究生院做好极好的准备。除了实验室经验，参与这项研究的主要研究人员和本科生将通过科学和数学教育卓越中心(CEME)与中小学生和教师在各种外展项目中建立联系。

This award in the Experimental Physical Chemistry program supports the collaborative effort between Physics Departments at two undergraduate institutions, Central Washington University and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Both Universities are public, four-year comprehensive institutions and the principal investigators mentor undergraduate students studying physics, engineering, and chemistry. The research component of this program will be to enhance our understanding of atmospheric and interstellar free radicals. A free radical is a substance with an unpaired electron; typically unstable, they are important intermediates in a number of chemical reactions occurring in the Earth's atmosphere and in space. Using a variety of high-resolution experiments, several free radicals such as ND, FeD, and CH3O will be investigated in the far-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum (the area between the infrared and microwave regions). To enhance these investigations, continued work on the discovery of far-infrared laser lines will be performed. Once detected, the frequencies of these laser lines will be measured to fractional uncertainties of a few parts in ten million. Other spectroscopic studies investigating "forbidden" transitions in stable symmetric- and asymmetric-top molecules are also planned. This research is performed in collaboration with a number of visiting scholars, including faculty and students at the University of Oxford, England. Since 1999, twenty-three undergraduates and four visiting graduate students have co-authored nineteen publications from this research laboratory. While sustaining a rigorous research program, the principal investigators will focus their educational efforts on mentoring undergraduate students. Students, from their freshmen through senior years, comprise the bulk of the research team. This experience will provide students with a deeper and broader educational experience, exposing them to research early in their academic careers and serving as excellent preparation for future professional endeavors and graduate school. Beyond the laboratory experience, the principal investigators and undergraduates involved in this research will connect with elementary and middle school students and teachers in a variety of outreach programs through the Center for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education (CESME).