Absolute molecular transition frequencies measured by three cavity-enhanced spectroscopy techniques

CRDS line-shape study of the (7-0) band of CO

We present the results of the spectral line-shape study of the first measurement of the extremely weak (7-0) band of the 12C16O molecule. Measurements were done with a highly sensitive cavity ring-down spectrometer. Collisional narrowing, analyzed in terms of speed-dependent effects, was observed for the first time for transitions with line intensities below 2⋅10-29 cm/molecule at 296 K. We provide a full set of line-shape parameters of the speed-dependent and regular Voigt profile analysis for 14 transitions from P and R branches. Experimental verification of a strong vibrational dependence of the pressure shifting described by the Hartmann model (Hartmann, 2009) is extended up to the sixth overtone highly sensitive to the model parameter.

FT-spectroscopy of the 12C18O rare isotopologue and deperturbation analysis of the A1Π(v = 3) level

Research on 12C18O was carried out using two complementary Fourier-transform methods: (1) vacuum-ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy, with an accuracy ca. 0.03 cm-1 on the DESIRS beamline (SOLEIL synchrotron) and (2) visible emission spectroscopy with an accuracy of about 0.005-0.007 cm-1 by means of the Bruker IFS 125HR spectrometer (University of Rzeszów). The maximum rotational quantum number of the energy levels involved in the observed spectral lines was Jmax = 54. An effective Hamiltonian and the term-value fitting approach were implemented for the precise analysis of the A1Π(v = 3) level in 12C18O. It was performed by means of the PGOPHER code. The data set consisted of 571 spectral lines belonging to the A1Π-X1Σ+(3, 0), B1Σ+-A1Π(0, 3), C1Σ+-A1Π(0, 3) bands and several lines involving states that perturb the A1Π(v = 3) level as well as to the previously analysed B1Σ+-X1Σ+(0, 0) and C1Σ+-X1Σ+(0, 0) transitions. A significantly extended quantum-mechanical description of the A1Π(v = 3) level in 12C18O was provided. It consists of the 5 new unimolecular interactions of the spin-orbit and rotation-electronic nature, which had not been taken into account previously in the literature. The ro-vibronic term values of the A1Π(v = 3, Jmax = 55), a'3Σ+(v = 13), D1Δ(v = 4) and I1Σ-(v = 5) levels were determined with precision improved by a factor of 10 relative to the previously known values.

Pressure and temperature dependencies of air-perturbed O2 B-band line shapes

The air-broadened lines from the oxygen B band were measured for the first time in controlled laboratory conditions with a high signal-to-noise ratio using frequency-stabilized cavity ring-down spectroscopy (FS-CRDS) referenced to the optical frequency comb. Spectra measured at various pressures and temperatures were analyzed with an advanced line-shape model, considering the speed-dependence of collisional broadening and shift, and the effect of velocity-changing collisions. The temperature dependence of collisional broadening and shift is determined, whereas no significant temperature dependence of speed-dependent parameters and Dicke narrowing was observed. In addition, we have demonstrated that reasonable estimation of temperature dependence for pressure broadening is possible even from measurements done in single temperature where the speed dependence of pressure broadening was determined. New spectroscopic data improve the accuracy of the air-broadened oxygen B-band spectra description by an order of magnitude.

Line mixing in the oxygen B band head

We present the results of direct measurements of the line mixing parameters for two pairs of overlapping transitions at the band head of the oxygen B band. Measurements were performed with the frequency-stabilized cavity ring-down spectrometer assisted by an optical frequency comb. The recorded spectra were analyzed with line profiles comprising speed dependence, Dicke narrowing, and line mixing. Incorporation of the line mixing into the model eliminated previous discrepancies for pressure shift and their speed dependence coefficients. First-order line mixing was determined directly from the line shape fitting at relatively low pressure (0.04 atm) together with other line shape parameters and compared with that calculated by Sung et al. [J. Quant. Spectrosc. Radiat. Transfer 235, 232–243 (2019)].

Dual-comb cavity ring-down spectroscopy

Cavity ring-down spectroscopy is a ubiquitous optical method used to study light-matter interactions with high resolution, sensitivity and accuracy. However, it has never been performed with the multiplexing advantages of direct frequency comb spectroscopy without significantly compromising spectral resolution. We present dual-comb cavity ring-down spectroscopy (DC-CRDS) based on the parallel heterodyne detection of ring-down signals with a local oscillator comb to yield absorption and dispersion spectra. These spectra are obtained from widths and positions of cavity modes. We present two approaches which leverage the dynamic cavity response to coherently or randomly driven changes in the amplitude or frequency of the probe field. Both techniques yield accurate spectra of methane-an important greenhouse gas and breath biomarker. When combined with broadband frequency combs, the high sensitivity, spectral resolution and accuracy of our DC-CRDS technique shows promise for applications like studies of the structure and dynamics of large molecules, multispecies trace gas detection and isotopic composition.

A data- and model-driven strategy for the evaluation of the experimental transition lines: Theoretical prediction for the ground state of 12C16O

An analytical formula that relates the molecular constants of the Herzberg expression and experimental transition lines is developed herein with a difference algebraic approach (DAA) model. Based on the data-driven strategy, the DAA model is able to deal with the tiny uncertainties that exhibit behind the experimental transition lines, which is applied to the P branch emission spectra of some first overtone bands of the ground electronic state of ¹²C¹⁶O. The relationship can be used to generate transition lines with sufficient accuracy, as evident from the high J of agreement with the HITRAN database, Velichko data, Goorvitch data and quantum-mechanical data. In addition, line intensities, absorption oscillator strengths and Einstein A coefficients of these lines, which are introduced to enhance the dataset and are in good agreement with those of other authors, are also reported to validate our results. These various comparative results show that the proposed data-driven strategy based on the DAA model is expecting to be a good algorithm that relies on relatively limited data for training.

Frequency-based dispersion Lamb-dip spectroscopy in a high finesse optical cavity

Frequency-based cavity mode-dispersion spectroscopy (CMDS), previously applied for Doppler-limited molecular spectroscopy, is now employed for the first time for saturation spectroscopy. Comparison with two intensity-based, cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy techniques, i.e. cavity mode-width spectroscopy (CMWS) and the well-established cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS), shows the predominance of the CMDS. The method enables measurements in broader pressure range and shows high immunity of the Lamb dip position to the incomplete model of saturated cavity mode shape. Frequencies of transitions from the second overtone of CO are determined with standard uncertainty below 500 Hz which corresponds to relative uncertainty below 3 × 10^-12. The pressure shift of the Lamb dips, which has not been detected for these transitions in available literature data, is observed.

Ultrahigh finesse cavity-enhanced spectroscopy for accurate tests of quantum electrodynamics for molecules

We report the most accurate, to the best of our knowledge, measurement of the position of the weak quadrupole S(2) 2-0 line in $ {{\rm D}_2} $D₂. The spectra were collected with a frequency-stabilized cavity ringdown spectrometer (FS-CRDS) with an ultrahigh finesse optical cavity ($ {\cal F} = 637 000 $F=637000) and operating in the frequency-agile, rapid scanning spectroscopy (FARS) mode. Despite working in the Doppler-limited regime, we reached 40 kHz of statistical uncertainty and 161 kHz of absolute accuracy, achieving the highest accuracy for homonuclear isotopologues of molecular hydrogen. The accuracy of our measurement corresponds to the fifth significant digit of the leading term in quantum electrodynamics (QED) correction. We observe $ 2.3\sigma $2.3σ discrepancy with the recent theoretical value.

Twenty-Five-Fold Reduction in Measurement Uncertainty for a Molecular Line Intensity

To accurately attribute sources and sinks of molecules like CO_{2}, remote sensing missions require line intensities (S) with relative uncertainties u_{r}(S)<0.1%. However, discrepancies in S of ≈1% are common when comparing different experiments, thus limiting their potential impact. Here we report a cavity ring-down spectroscopy multi-instrument comparison which revealed that the hardware used to digitize analog ring-down signals caused variability in spectral integrals which yield S. Our refined approach improved measurement accuracy 25-fold, resulting in u_{r}(S)=0.06%.

High-accuracy and wide dynamic range frequency-based dispersion spectroscopy in an optical cavity

A spectroscopic method free from systematic errors is desired for many challenging applications of gas detection. Although existing cavity-enhanced techniques exhibit very high precision, their accuracy strongly depends on propagation of the light amplitude through an optical system and its detection. Here, we demonstrate that the frequency-based molecular dispersion spectroscopy, involving sub-Hz-level precision in frequency measurements of optical cavity resonances, leads to sub-per-mille accuracy and a wide dynamic range, both previously unattainable by any other spectroscopic technique. The method offers great sensitivity of 5×10^-11 cm^-1, high speed, limited only by the fundamental response time of the cavity, and traceability of both axes of the spectrum to the primary frequency standard. All these features are necessary for convenient realization of comprehensive molecular spectroscopy from Doppler up to collisional regime without changing the spectroscopic method and modification of the experimental setup. Moreover, the presented approach does not require linear, high-bandwidth nor phase-sensitive detectors and can be directly implemented in existing cavity-enhanced spectrometers utilizing either continuous-wave or coherent broadband radiation. We experimentally prove the predominance of frequency-based spectroscopy over intensity-based one. Our results motivate replacement of intensity-based absorption spectroscopy with a pure frequency-based dispersion one in applications where the highest accuracy is required.

Broadband Optical Cavity Mode Measurements at Hz-Level Precision With a Comb-Based VIPA Spectrometer

Optical frequency comb spectrometers open up new avenues of investigation into molecular structure and dynamics thanks to their accuracy, sensitivity and broadband, high-speed operation. We combine broadband direct frequency comb spectroscopy with a dispersive spectrometer providing single-spectrum acquisition time of a few tens of milliseconds and high spectral resolution. We interleave a few tens of such comb-resolved spectra to obtain profiles of 14-kHz wide cavity resonances and determine their positions with precision of a few hertz. To the best of our knowledge, these are the most precise and highest resolution spectral measurements performed with a broadband spectrometer, either comb-based or non-comb-based. This result pushes the limits of broadband comb-based spectroscopy to Hz-level regime. As a demonstration of these capabilities, we perform simultaneous cavity-enhanced measurements of molecular absorption and dispersion, deriving the gas spectra from cavity mode widths and positions. Such approach is particularly important for gas metrology and was made possible by the Hz-level resolution of the system. The presented method should be especially applicable to monitoring of chemical kinetics in, for example, plasma discharges or measurements of narrow resonances in cold atoms and molecules.

Broadband calibration-free cavity-enhanced complex refractive index spectroscopy using a frequency comb

We present broadband cavity-enhanced complex refractive index spectroscopy (CE-CRIS), a technique for calibration-free determination of the complex refractive index of entire molecular bands via direct measurement of transmission modes of a Fabry-Perot cavity filled with the sample. The measurement of the cavity transmission spectrum is done using an optical frequency comb and a mechanical Fourier transform spectrometer with sub-nominal resolution. Molecular absorption and dispersion spectra (corresponding to the imaginary and real parts of the refractive index) are obtained from the cavity mode broadening and shift retrieved from fits of Lorentzian profiles to the individual cavity modes. This method is calibration-free because the mode broadening and shift are independent of the cavity parameters such as the length and mirror reflectivity. In this first demonstration of broadband CE-CRIS we measure simultaneously the absorption and dispersion spectra of three combination bands of CO₂ in the range between 1525 nm and 1620 nm and achieve good agreement with theoretical models. This opens up for precision spectroscopy of the complex refractive index of several molecular bands simultaneously.