High-resolution analysis of the ν₃ band of radiocarbon methane ¹⁴CH₄

Abstract

<p>We present the first high-resolution measurements and rotational analysis of the fundamental asymmetric stretching vibrational band ν<sub>3</sub>(F<sub>2</sub>) of radiocarbon methane. A spectrometer consisting of a mid-infrared continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator and a cantilever-enhanced photoacoustic detector was employed to determine the wavenumbers of 43 rovibrational lines. A spectroscopic model could reproduce all the observed transition wavenumbers within the accuracy of the experiment. Our work contributes to the development of radiocarbon methane detectors based on laser spectroscopy.</p>