Highly accurate intensity factors of pure CO2 lines near 2 μm

Ames-2021 CO2 Dipole Moment Surface and IR Line Lists: Toward 0.1% Uncertainty for CO2 IR Intensities

A highly accurate CO₂ ab initio dipole moment surface (DMS), Ames-2021, is reported along with ¹²C¹⁶O₂ infrared (IR) intensity comparisons approaching a 1-4‰ level of agreement and uncertainty. The Ames-2021 DMS was accurately fitted from CCSD(T) finite-field dipoles computed with the aug-cc-pVXZ (X = T, Q, 5) basis for C atom and the d-aug-cc-pVXZ (X = T, Q, 5) basis for O atoms, and extrapolated to the one particle basis set limit. Fitting σ_rms is 3.8 × 10^-7 au for 4443 geometries below 15 000 cm^-1. The corresponding IR intensity, S_Ames-2021, are computed using the Ames-2 potential energy surface (PES), which is the best PES available for CO₂. Compared to high accuracy IR studies for 2001i-00001 and 3001i-00001 bands, S_Ames-2021 matches NIST experiment-based intensities [S_NIST-HIT16 or S_HIT20] to -1.0 ± 1.3‰, or matches DLR experiment-based intensities [S_{DLR-HIT16/UCL/Ames}] to 1.9 ± 3.7‰. This indicates the systematic deviations and uncertainties have been significantly reduced in S_Ames-2021. The S_UCL2015 (or S_HITRAN2016) have larger deviations (vs S_DLR) and uncertainties (vs S_DLR, S_NIST) which are attributed to the less accurate Ames-1 PES adopted in UCL-296 line list calculation. The S_Ames-2021 intensity of ¹²C¹⁶O₂ and ¹³C¹⁶O₂ is utilized to derive new absolute ¹³C/¹²C ratios for Vienna PeeDee Belemnite (VPDB) with uncertainty reduced by ¹/₃ or ²/₃. Further evaluation of S_Ames-2021 intensities are carried out on those CO₂ bands discussed in the HITRAN2020 update paper. Consistent improvements and better accuracies are found in band-by-band analysis, except for those bands strongly affected by Coriolis couplings, or very weak bands measured with relatively larger experimental uncertainties. The Ames-2021 296 K IR line lists are generated for 13 CO₂ isotopologues, with 18 000 cm^-1 and S_296 K > 1 × 10^-31 cm/molecule cutoff and then combined with CDSD line positions (except ¹⁴C¹⁶O₂). The Ames-2021 DMS and 296 K IR line lists represent a major improvement over previous CO₂ theoretical IR intensity studies, including Ames-2016, UCL-296, and recent UCL DMS 2021 update. A real 1 permille level of agreement and uncertainty will definitely require both more accurate PES and more accurate DMS.

Electric quadrupole transitions in carbon dioxide

Recent advances in high sensitivity spectroscopy have made it possible, in combination with accurate theoretical predictions, to observe, for the first time, very weak electric quadrupole transitions in a polar polyatomic molecule of water. Here, we present accurate theoretical predictions of the complete quadrupole rovibrational spectrum of a non-polar molecule CO₂, important in atmospheric and astrophysical applications. Our predictions are validated by recent cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy measurements and are used to assign few weak features in the recent ExoMars Atmospheric Chemistry Suite mid-infrared spectroscopic observations of the Martian atmosphere. Predicted quadrupole transitions appear in some of the mid-infrared CO₂ and water vapor transparency regions, making them important for detection and characterization of the minor absorbers in water- and CO₂-rich environments, such as those present in the atmospheres of Earth, Venus, and Mars.

A well-isolated vibrational state of CO2verified by near-infrared saturated spectroscopy with kHz accuracy

Quantitative determination of atmospheric CO₂concentration by remote sensing relies on accurate line parameters.

Cavity ring-down spectroscopy of CO2 near λ = 2.06 μm: Accurate transition intensities for the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) "strong band"

The λ = 2.06 μm absorption band of CO₂ is widely used for the remote sensing of atmospheric carbon dioxide, making it relevant to many important top-down measurements of carbon flux. The forward models used in the retrieval algorithms employed in these measurements require increasingly accurate line intensity and line shape data from which absorption cross-sections can be computed. To overcome accuracy limitations of existing line lists, we used frequency-stabilized cavity ring-down spectroscopy to measure 39 transitions in the ¹²C¹⁶O₂ absorption band. The line intensities were measured with an estimated relative combined standard uncertainty of u _r = 0.08 %. We predicted the J-dependence of the measured intensities using two theoretical models: a one-dimensional spectroscopic model with Herman-Wallis rotation-vibration corrections, and a line-by-line ab initio dipole moment surface model [Zak et al. JQSRT 2016;177:31-42]. For the second approach, we fit only a single factor to rescale the theoretical integrated band intensity to be consistent with the measured intensities. We find that the latter approach yields an equally adequate representation of the fitted J-dependent intensity data and provides the most physically general representation of the results. Our recommended value for the integrated band intensity equal to 7.183 × 10^-21 cm molecule^-1 ± 6 × 10^-24 cm molecule^-1 is based on the rescaled ab initio model and corresponds to a fitted scale factor of 1.0069 ± 0.0002. Comparisons of literature intensity values to our results reveal systematic deviations ranging from -1.16 % to +0.33 %.

Prediction of line shape parameters and their temperature dependences for CO2-N2 using molecular dynamics simulations

We show in this paper that requantized classical molecular dynamics simulations (rCMDSs) are capable of predicting various refined spectral-shape parameters of absorption lines of CO₂ broadened by N₂ with high precision. Combining CMDSs and a requantization procedure, we computed the auto-correlation function of the CO₂ dipole moment responsible for the absorption transition. Its Fourier-Laplace transform directly yields the spectrum. Calculations were made for two temperatures, 200 and 296 K, at 1 atm and for a large range of Doppler widths, from the near-Doppler to the collision-dominant regimes. For each temperature and each line, the spectra calculated for various Doppler widths were simultaneously fit with the Hartmann-Tran (HT) profile. This refined profile, which takes into account the effects of the speed dependent collisional line broadening, the Dicke narrowing, and the collisional line mixing, was recommended as a reference model to be used in high-resolution spectroscopy (instead of the simplified Voigt model). The HT parameters retrieved from the rCMDS-calculated spectra were then directly compared with those deduced from high-precision measurements [J. S. Wilzewski et al., J. Quant. Spectrosc. Radiat. Transfer 206, 296-305 (2018)]. The results show a very good agreement, even for those parameters whose influence on the spectra is very small. Good agreement is also obtained between measured and predicted temperature dependences of these parameters. This demonstrates that rCMDS is an excellent tool, highly competitive with respect to high quality measurements for precise line-shape studies.

High-accuracy water potential energy surface for the calculation of infrared spectra

Transition intensities for small molecules such as water and CO₂ can now be computed with such high accuracy that they are being used to systematically replace measurements in standard databases. These calculations use high-accuracy ab initio dipole moment surfaces and wave functions from spectroscopically determined potential energy surfaces (PESs). Here, an extra high-accuracy PES of the water molecule (H₂¹⁶O) is produced starting from an ab initio PES which is then refined to empirical rovibrational energy levels. Variational nuclear motion calculations using this PES reproduce the fitted energy levels with a standard deviation of 0.011 cm^-1, approximately three times their stated uncertainty. The use of wave functions computed with this refined PES is found to improve the predicted transition intensities for selected (problematic) transitions. A new room temperature line list for H₂¹⁶O is presented. It is suggested that the associated set of line intensities is the most accurate available to date for this species.This article is part of the theme issue 'Modern theoretical chemistry'.

High-accuracy 12C16O2 line intensities in the 2 μm wavelength region measured by frequency-stabilized cavity ring-down spectroscopy

Reported here are highly accurate, experimentally measured ro-vibrational transition intensities for the R-branch of the (20012) - (00001) ¹²C¹⁶O₂ band near λ = 2 μm. Measurements were performed by a frequency-stabilized cavity ring-down spectroscopy (FS-CRDS) instrument designed to achieve precision molecular spectroscopy in this important region of the infrared. Through careful control and traceable characterization of CO₂ sample conditions, and through high-fidelity measurements spanning several months in time, we achieve relative standard uncertainties for the reported transition intensities between 0.15 % and 0.46 %. Such high accuracy spectroscopy is shown to provide a stringent test of calculated potential energy and ab initio dipole moment surfaces, and therefore transition intensities calculated from first principles.

Optical Measurement of Radiocarbon below Unity Fraction Modern by Linear Absorption Spectroscopy

High-precision measurements of radiocarbon (¹⁴C) near or below a fraction modern ¹⁴C of 1 (F¹⁴C ≤ 1) are challenging and costly. An accurate, ultrasensitive linear absorption approach to detecting ¹⁴C would provide a simple and robust benchtop alternative to off-site accelerator mass spectrometry facilities. Here we report the quantitative measurement of ¹⁴C in gas-phase samples of CO₂ with F¹⁴C < 1 using cavity ring-down spectroscopy in the linear absorption regime. Repeated analysis of CO₂ derived from the combustion of either biogenic or petrogenic sources revealed a robust ability to differentiate samples with F¹⁴C < 1. With a combined uncertainty of ¹⁴C/¹²C = 130 fmol/mol (F¹⁴C = 0.11), initial performance of the calibration-free instrument is sufficient to investigate a variety of applications in radiocarbon measurement science including the study of biofuels and bioplastics, illicitly traded specimens, bomb dating, and atmospheric transport.

Ro-vibronic transition intensities for triatomic molecules from the exact kinetic energy operator; electronic spectrum for the C̃ 1B2 ← X̃ 1A1 transition in SO2

A procedure for calculating ro-vibronic transition intensities for triatomic molecules within the Born-Oppenheimer approximation is reported. Ro-vibrational energy levels and wavefunctions are obtained with the DVR3D suite, which solves the nuclear motion problem with an exact kinetic energy operator. Absolute transition intensities are calculated both with the Franck-Condon approximation and with a full transition dipole moment surface. The theoretical scheme is tested on C̃ ¹B₂ ← X̃ ¹A₁ ro-vibronic transitions of SO₂. Ab initio potential energy and dipole moment surfaces are generated for this purpose. The calculated ro-vibronic transition intensities and cross sections are compared with the available experimental and theoretical data.