No Arabic abstract
Optical frequency comb-referenced measurements of self pressure-broadened line profiles of the R(8) to R(13) lines in the thisband combination band of acetylene near 1.52$mu$m are reported. The analysis of the data found no evidence for a previously reported [Iwakuni et al. textit{Phys. Rev. Letts.} textbf{117}, 143902(5) 2016] systematic alternation in self pressure-broadened line widths with the nuclear spin state of the molecule. The present work brought out the need for the use of an accurate line profile model and a careful accounting for weak background absorptions due to hot-band and lower abundance isotopomer lines. The data were adequately fit using the quadratic speed-dependent Voigt profile model, neglecting the small speed-dependent shift. Parameters describing the most probable and speed-dependent pressure-broadening, most probable shift, and the line strength were determined for each line. Detailed modeling of the results of Iwakuni et al. showed that their neglect of collisional narrowing due to the speed-dependent broadening term, combined with the strongly absorbing data recorded and analyzed in transmission mode were likely the reasons for their results.
Frequency comb-referenced measurements of sub-Doppler laser saturation dip absorption lines in the $v_1+v_3$ band of acetylene near $1.5,mu mathrm{m}$ are reported. These measurements include transitions involving higher rotational levels than previously frequency measured in this band. The accuracy of the measured frequencies is typically better than 10 kHz. Measurements of the observed sub-Doppler line widths as a function of pressure showed that the self pressure-broadening coefficients are about 3.5 times larger than those derived from conventional pressure broadening of unsaturated Doppler-limited spectra. This is attributed to the contribution of velocity-changing collisions to the total dephasing rate in the low pressure sub-Doppler measurements. At higher pressures, when the homogeneous broadening becomes comparable to the typical Doppler shift per elastic collision, the velocity changing collisions cease to contribute significantly to the incremental pressure broadening. A time-dependent soft collision model is developed to illustrate the transition between low and high pressure regimes of sub-Doppler pressure-broadening.
Encapsulation of a single water molecule in fullerene-C60 via chemical surgery provides a unique opportunity to study the distinct rotational dynamics of the water spin isomers at cryogenic temperatures. Here, we employ single-cycle terahertz (THz) pulses to coherently excite the low-frequency rotational motion of ortho- and para-water, encapsulated in fullerene-C60. The THz pulse slightly orients the water electric dipole moments along the field polarization leading to the subsequent emission of electromagnetic waves, which we resolve via the field-free electro-optic sampling technique. At temperatures above ~100 K, the rotation of water in its cage is overdamped and no emission is resolved. At lower temperatures, the water rotation gains a long coherence decay time, allowing observation of the coherent emission for 10-15 ps after the initial excitation. We observe the real-time change of the emission pattern after cooling to 4 K, corresponding to the conversion of a mixture of ortho-water to para-water over the course of 10 hours.
We have measured the ortho-to-para ratio of ammonia in the blueshifted gas of the L1157 outflow by observing the six metastable inversion lines from (J, K) = (1, 1) to (6, 6). The highly excited (5, 5) and (6, 6) lines were first detected in the low-mass star forming regions. The rotational temperature derived from the ratio of four transition lines from (3, 3) to (6, 6) is 130-140 K, suggesting that the blueshifted gas is heated by a factor of ~10 as compared to the quiescent gas. The ortho-to-para ratio of the NH3 molecules in the blueshifted gas is estimated to be 1.3--1.7, which is higher than the statistical equilibrium value. This ratio provides us with evidence that the NH3 molecules have been evaporated from dust grains with the formation temperature between 18 and 25 K. It is most likely that the NH3 molecules on dust grains have been released into the gas phase through the passage of strong shock waves produced by the outflow. Such a scenario is supported by the fact that the ammonia abundance in the blueshifted gas is enhanced by a factor of ~5 with respect to the dense quiescent gas.
Despite the low elemental deuterium abundance in the Galaxy, enhanced molecular D/H ratios have been found in the environments of low-mass star forming regions, and in particular the Class 0 protostar IRAS 16293-2422. The CHESS (Chemical HErschel Surveys of Star forming regions) Key Program aims at studying the molecular complexity of the interstellar medium. The high sensitivity and spectral resolution of the HIFI instrument provide a unique opportunity to observe the fundamental 1,1,1 - 0,0,0 transition of the ortho-D2O molecule, inaccessible from the ground, and to determine the ortho-to-para D2O ratio. We have detected the fundamental transition of the ortho-D2O molecule at 607.35 GHz towards IRAS 16293-2422. The line is seen in absorption with a line opacity of 0.62 +/- 0.11 (1 sigma). From the previous ground-based observations of the fundamental 1,1,0 - 1,0,1 transition of para-D2O seen in absorption at 316.80 GHz we estimate a line opacity of 0.26 +/- 0.05 (1 sigma). We show that the observed absorption is caused by the cold gas in the envelope of the protostar. Using these new observations, we estimate for the first time the ortho to para D2O ratio to be lower than 2.6 at a 3 sigma level of uncertainty, to be compared with the thermal equilibrium value of 2:1.
We present experimental results for dissociative electron attachment to acetylene near the 3 eV $^2Pi_g$ resonance. In particular, we use an ion-momentum imaging technique to investigate the dissociation channel leading to C$_2$H$^-$ fragments. From our measured ion-momentum results we extract fragment kinetic energy and angular distributions. We directly observe a significant dissociation bending dynamic associated with the formation of the transitory negative ion. In modeling this bending dynamic with emph{ab initio} electronic structure and fixed-nuclei scattering calculations we obtain good agreement with the experiment.