Narrow-band coherent Rayleigh scattering

We describe the first implementation of narrow-band coherent Rayleigh scattering (CRS) for high spectral resolution of CRS line shapes. Using intensities in the 10(9) W/cm(2) range we find that the measured line shapes Of CO2, N-2 and Xe gases at room temperature are in good agreement with a CRS model that assumes weakly perturbing fields. We compare our results with broadband CRS and discuss the importance of phase-matching requirements for narrow-band CRS. Finally, we show that a spectral narrowing in the CRS profile is predicted at intensities that are approximately an order of magnitude greater than those used in our experiments. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.