No Arabic abstract
A methane line list for the HITEMP spectroscopic database, covering 0-13,400 cm$^{-1}$ ($>$746 nm), is presented. To create this compilation, ab initio line lists of $^{12}$CH$_{4}$ from Rey et al. (2017) ApJ, 847, 105 (provided at separate temperatures in the TheoReTS information system), are now combined with HITRAN2016 methane data to produce a single line list suitable for high-temperature line-by-line calculations up to 2000 K. An effective-temperature interpolation model was created in order to represent continuum-like features at any temperature of interest. This model is advantageous to previously-used approaches that employ so-called ``super-lines, which are suitable only at a given temperature and require separate line lists for different temperatures. The resultant HITEMP line list contains $sim$32 million lines and is significantly more flexible than alternative line lists of methane, while accuracy required for astrophysical or combustion applications is retained. Comparisons against experimental observations of methane absorption at high temperatures have been used to demonstrate the accuracy of the new work. The line list includes both strong lines and quasi-continuum features and is provided in the common user-friendly HITRAN/HITEMP format, making it the most practical methane line list for radiative transfer modeling at high-temperature conditions.
We have obtained spatially resolved spectra of Titan in the near-infrared J, H and K bands at a resolving power of ~5000 using the near-infrared integral field spectrometer (NIFS) on the Gemini North 8m telescope. Using recent data from the Cassini/Huygens mission on the atmospheric composition and surface and aerosol properties, we develop a multiple-scattering radiative transfer model for the Titan atmosphere. The Titan spectrum at these wavelengths is dominated by absorption due to methane with a series of strong absorption band systems separated by window regions where the surface of Titan can be seen. We use a line-by-line approach to derive the methane absorption coefficients. The methane spectrum is only accurately represented in standard line lists down to ~2.1 {mu}m. However, by making use of recent laboratory data and modeling of the methane spectrum we are able to construct a new line list that can be used down to 1.3 {mu}m. The new line list allows us to generate spectra that are a good match to the observations at all wavelengths longer than 1.3 {mu}m and allow us to model regions, such as the 1.55 {mu}m window that could not be studied usefully with previous line lists such as HITRAN 2008. We point out the importance of the far-wing line shape of strong methane lines in determining the shape of the methane windows. Line shapes with Lorentzian, and sub-Lorentzian regions are needed to match the shape of the windows, but different shape parameters are needed for the 1.55 {mu}m and 2 {mu}m windows. After the methane lines are modelled our observations are sensitive to additional absorptions, and we use the data in the 1.55 {mu}m region to determine a D/H ratio of 1.77 pm 0.20 x 10-4, and a CO mixing ratio of 50 pm 11 ppmv. In the 2 {mu}m window we detect absorption features that can be identified with the { u}5+3{ u}6 and 2{ u}3+2{ u}6 bands of CH3D.
The spectrum of dicarbon (C2) is important in astrophysics and for spectroscopic studies of plasmas and flames. The C2 spectrum is characterized by many band systems with new ones still being actively identified; astronomical observations involve eight of these bands. Recently, Furtenbacher et al. (2016, Astrophys. J. Suppl., 224, 44) presented a set of 5699 empirical energy levels for 12C2, distributed among 11 electronic states and 98 vibronic bands, derived from 42 experimental studies and obtained using the MARVEL (Measured Active Rotational-Vibrational Energy Levels) procedure. Here, we add data from 13 new sources and update data from 5 sources. Many of these data sources characterize high-lying electronic states, including the newly detected 3Pig state. Older studies have been included following improvements in the MARVEL procedure which allow their uncertainties to be estimated. These older works in particular determine levels in the C1Pig state, the upper state of the insufficiently characterized Deslandres-dAzambuja (C1Pig-A1Piu) band. The new compilation considers a total of 31323 transitions and derives 7047 empirical(MARVEL) energy levels spanning 20 electronic and 142 vibronic states. These new empirical energy levels are used here to update the 8states C2 ExoMol line list. This updated line list is highly suitable for high-resolution cross-correlation studies in astronomical spectroscopy of, for example, exoplanets, as 99.4% of the transitions with intensities over 10^(-18) cm/molecule at 1000 K have frequencies determined by empirical energy levels.
In this research note, we present linemake, an open-source atomic and molecular line list generator. Rather than a replacement for a number of well-established atomic and molecular spectral databases, linemake aims to be a lightweight, easy-to-use tool to generate formatted and curated lists suitable for spectral synthesis work. We encourage users of linemake to understand the sources of their transition data and cite them as appropriate in published work. We provide the code, line database, and an extensive list of literature references in a GitHub repository (https://github.com/vmplacco/linemake), which will be updated regularly as new data become available.
New line lists are presented for the two most abundant water isotopologues; H$_{2}$$^{16}$O and H$_{2}$$^{18}$O. The H$_{2}$$^{16}$O line list extends to 25710 cm$^{-1}$ with intensity stabilities provided via ratios of calculated intensities obtained from two different semi-empirical potential energy surfaces. The line list for H$_{2}$$^{18}$O extends to 20000 cm$^{-1}$. The minimum intensity considered for all is $10^{-30}$ cm molecule$^{-1}$ at 296~K, assuming 100% abundance for each isotopologue. Fluctuation of calculated intensities caused by changes in the underlying potential energy are found to be significant, particularly for weak transitions. Direct comparisons are made against eighteen different sources of line intensities, both experimental and theoretical, many of which are used within the HITRAN2016 database. With some exceptions, there is excellent agreement between our line lists and the experimental intensities in HITRAN2016. In the infrared region, many H$_{2}$$^{16}$O bands which exhibit intensity differences of 5-10% between to the most recent POKAZATEL line list (Polyansky textit{et al.}, [Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. textbf{480}, 2597 (2018)] and observation, are now generally predicted to within 1%. For H$_{2}$$^{18}$O, there are systematic differences in the strongest intensities calculated in this work versus those obtained from semi-empirical calculations. In the visible, computed cross sections show smaller residuals between our work and both HITRAN2016 and HITEMP2010 than POKAZATEL. While our line list accurately reproduces HITEMP2010 cross sections in the observed region, residuals produced from this comparison do however highlight the need to update line positions in the visible spectrum of HITEMP2010. These line lists will be used to update many transition intensities and line positions in the HITRAN2016 database.
(Abridged) The quiet M2.5 star GJ 436 hosts a warm Neptune that displays an extended atmosphere that dwarfs its own host star. Predictions of atmospheric escape in such planets state that H atoms escape from the upper atmosphere in a collisional regime and that the flow can drag heavier atoms to the upper atmosphere. It is unclear, however, what astrophysical mechanisms drive the process. Our objective is to leverage the extensive coverage of HST/COS observations of the far-ultraviolet (FUV) spectrum of GJ 436 to search for signals of metallic ions in the upper atmosphere of GJ 436 b. We analyzed flux time-series of species present in the FUV spectrum of GJ 436, as well as the Lyman-$alpha$ line. GJ 436 displays FUV flaring events with a rate of $sim$10 d$^{-1}$. There is evidence for a possibly long-lived active region or longitude that modulates the FUV metallic lines of the star with amplitudes up to 20%. Despite the strong geocoronal contamination in the COS spectra, we detected in-transit excess absorption signals of $sim$50% and $sim$30% in the blue and red wings, respectively, of the Lyman-$alpha$ line. We rule out a wide range of excess absorption levels in the metallic lines of the star during the transit. The large atmospheric loss of GJ 436 b observed in Lyman-$alpha$ transmission spectra is stable over the timescale of a few years, and the red wing signal supports the presence of a variable hydrogen absorption source besides the stable exosphere. The previously claimed in-transit absorption in the Si III line is likely an artifact resulting from the stellar magnetic cycle. The non-detection of metallic ions in absorption could indicate that the escape is not hydrodynamic or that the atmospheric mixing is not efficient in dragging metals high enough for sublimation to produce a detectable escape rate of ions to the exosphere.