Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Development Of A High-Resolution Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy Apparatus For The Study Of Methane And Other Astrochemical Molecules., S M Shah Riyadh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research documents steps towards building a novel spectroscopic technique, namely, cavity-enhanced double-resonance (CEDR) spectroscopy, for investigating methane (CH₄) and other molecules with significance in astrochemistry. These efforts focus on tackling the complexities of their ro-vibrational energy levels and the inefficiencies in analyzing vibrational spectra, particularly for molecules with high symmetry and strong intramolecular interactions. In the CEDR spectroscopy, the first photon, generated by a continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator (CW-OPO) locked to a Doppler-free saturation absorption line, excites the molecule from its ground level to a selected excited ro-vibrational (rotational-vibrational) level, e.g., that of the asymmetric CH-stretch mode. …