Diode laser spectroscopic measurements and theoretical calculations of line parameters of nitrogen-broadened water vapor overtone transitions in the 818-834 nm wavelength region

Nitrogen-broadened water vapor line parameters of the (2 1 1) <- (0 0 0) overtone band transitions in the 818-834 nm wavelength region are measured by using a tunable diode laser spectrometer. Water vapor is kept at its saturated vapor pressure at room temperature within a sample cell. Use of a balanced detector and a lock-in amplifier helps to increase the detection efficiency and the signal-to-noise ratio. The collisional broadening coefficients are extracted from the fitting of the experimental data by using a standard Voigt line profile. Collisional half-widths of water vapor lines perturbed by nitrogen are evaluated using the complex-valued implementation of the Robert-Bonamy (CRB) formalism. The rotational wave functions and the energy eigenvalues in the (2 1 1) vibrational state of water molecule are assumed on the basis of symmetry properties. Hence the outcome of this work also tests the validity of the theoretical approximations. The experimental data are compared with the corresponding theoretical values and the possible causes of deviation between the two have also been discussed. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.