19.26-P

Molecular Constants for the Ground Electronic State of Hydrogen

M. E. Mickelson (Denison University)

The resolution and accuracy of ground-based and space-craft spectroscopy of solar system bodies has improved dramatically over the last decade. This has driven the demand for high resolution and high accuracy laboratory spectroscopic measurements of molecules having significance for planetary atmospheres. Given the importance of tex2html_wrap_inline31 for planetary atmospheres, the results from the most recent and most accurate measurements tex2html_wrap_inline33 have been compiled for easy reference. These include measurements of the line positions, line strengths, shifts in line position due to density, and self broadening parameters for the ground electronic state of molecular hydrogen. This paper also presents an improved set of vibration-rotation constants for the ground electronic state. A non-linear least squares procedure was used to fit all of the laboratory measurements for the approximately 35 observed transitions in the 0-0 through the 5-0 bands. Terms to the fifth order in the vibrational quantum number v and to the fourth order in J(J+1) produced a fit with an rms standard deviation of 0.006 tex2html_wrap_inline39 .

This work has been supported in part by NASA Grant NAGW 1765 and by Denison University.

References: tex2html_wrap_inline41 Bragg, S. L. 1981, PhD Dissertation, Washington University. tex2html_wrap_inline43 Bragg, S. L., Brault, J. W., and Smith, W. H. 1982, AJP, 263, 999. tex2html_wrap_inline45 Ferguson, D. W., Rao, K. N., Mickelson, M. E., and Larson, L. E. 1993, J. Mol. Spectrosc., 160, 315. tex2html_wrap_inline47 Jennings, D. W., Rahn, L. A., and Owyoung, A. 1985, AJP Let, 291, L15. tex2html_wrap_inline49 Jennings, D. E., Weber, A., and Brault, J. W. 1987, J. Mol. Spectrosc., 126, 19. tex2html_wrap_inline51 Rao, K. N., Mickelson, M.E., and Trauger, J. T. 1990, J. Mol. Struct., 217, 85.