66 research outputs found
Evidence for speed-dependent effects in NH3 self-broadened spectra: towards a new determination of the Boltzmann constant
In this paper we present an accurate analysis of the shape of an isolated
rovibrational ammonia line from the strong nu2 band around 10 m, recorded
by laser absorption spectroscopy. Experimental spectra obtained under
controlled temperature and pressure, are confronted to various models that take
into account Dicke narrowing or speed-dependent effects. Our results show clear
evidence for speed-dependent broadening and shifting, which had never been
demonstrated so far in NH3. Accurate lineshape parameters of the nu2 saQ(6,3)
line are obtained. Our current project aiming at measuring the Boltzmann
constant, kB, by laser spectroscopy will straight away benefit from such
knowledge. We anticipate that a first optical determination of kB with a
competitive uncertainty of a few ppm is now reachable.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl
10 um wavefront spatial filtering: first results with chalcogenide fibers
Wavefront cleaning by single-mode fibers has proved to be efficient in
optical-infrared interferometry to improve calibration quality. For instance,
the FLUOR instrument has demonstrated the capability of fluoride glass
single-mode fibers in this respect in the K and L bands. New interferometric
instruments developped for the mid-infrared require the same capability for the
8-12 um range. We have initiated a program to develop single-mode fibers in the
prospect of the VLTI mid-infrared instrument MIDI and of the ESA/DARWIN and
NASA/TPF missions that require excellent wavefront quality. In order to
characterize the performances of chalcogenide fibers we are developping, we
have set up an experiment to measure the far-field pattern radiated at 10 um.
In this paper, we report the first and promising results obtained with this new
component.Comment: Conference "Interferometry for Optical Astronomy II", SPIE 200
Probing weak force induced parity violation by high resolution mid-infrared molecular spectroscopy
To date no experiment has reached the level of sensitivity required to
observe weak nuclear force induced parity violation (PV) energy differences in
chiral molecules. In this paper, we present the approach, adopted at
Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers (LPL), to measure frequency differences in
the vibrational spectrum of enantiomers. We review different spectroscopic
methods developed at LPL leading to the highest resolutions, as well as 20
years of CO2 laser stabilization work enabling such precise measurements. After
a first attempt to observe PV vibrational frequency shifts using sub-Doppler
saturated absorption spectroscopy in a cell, we are currently aiming at an
experiment based on Doppler-free two-photon Ramsey interferometry on a
supersonic beam. We report on our latest progress towards observing PV with
chiral organo-metallic complexes containing a heavy rhenium atom
Absolute frequency measurement in the 28 THz spectral region with a femtosecond laser comb and a long-distance optical link to a primary standard
A new frequency chain was demonstrated to measure an optical frequency standard based on a rovibrational molecular transition in the 28 THz spectral region accessible to a CO2 laser. It uses a femtosecond-laser frequency comb generator and two laser diodes at 852 nm and 788 nm as intermediate oscillators, with their frequency difference phase-locked to the CO2 laser. The RF repetition rate of the femtosecond laser was compared with a 100-MHz signal from a Hydrogen Maser, located at BNM-SYRTE. The 100 MHz signal is transmitted by amplitude modulation of a 1.55 µm laser diode through a 43-km telecommunication optical fibre. As a first example, the absolute measurement of a saturation line of OsO4 in the vicinity of the P(16) laser line of CO2 is reported with a relative uncertainty of 10-12, limited by the CO2/OsO4 frequency day-to-day reproducibility. The current limit on the stability of the frequency measurement is 4´10-13 at 1 s
Determination of the Boltzmann constant by laser spectroscopy as a basis for future measurements of the thermodynamic temperature
In this paper, we present the latest results on the measurement of the
Boltzmann constant kB, by laser spectroscopy of ammonia at 10 ?m. The Doppler
absorption profile of a ro-vibrational line of an NH3 gas sample at thermal and
pressure equilibrium is measured as accurately as possible. The absorption cell
is placed inside a large 1m3 thermostat filled with an ice-water mixture, which
sets the temperature very close to 273.15 K. Analysing this profile, which is
related to the Maxwell-Boltzmann molecular speed distribution, leads to a
determination of the Boltzmann constant via a measurement of the Doppler width
(proportional tosqrt(kBT)). A spectroscopic determination of the Boltzmann
constant with an uncertainty as low as 37 ppm is obtained. Recent improvements
with a new passive thermostat lead to a temperature accuracy, stability and
homogeneity of the absorption cell better than 1 ppm over a day
A revised uncertainty budget for measuring the Boltzmann constant using the Doppler Broadening Technique on ammonia
We report on our on-going effort to measure the Boltzmann constant, kB, using
the Doppler Broadening Technique. The main systematic effects affecting the
measurement are discussed. A revised error budget is presented in which the
global uncertainty on systematic effects is reduced to 2.3 ppm. This
corresponds to a reduction of more than one order of magnitude compared to our
previous Boltzmann constant measurement. Means to reach a determination of kB
at the part per million accuracy level are outlined
Measurement of the Boltzmann constant by the Doppler broadening technique at a 3,8x10-5 accuracy level
In this paper, we describe an experiment performed at the Laboratoire de
Physique des Lasers and dedicated to an optical measurement of the Boltzmann
constant. With the proposed innovative technique, determining comes down to an
ordinary frequency measurement. The method consists in measuring as accurately
as possible the Doppler absorption profile of a rovibrational line of ammonia
in thermal equilibrium. This profile is related to the Maxwell-Boltzmann
molecular velocity distribution along the laser beam. A fit of the absorption
line shape leads to a determination of the Doppler width proportional to
sqrt(kT) and thus to a determination of the Boltzmann constant. The laser
source is an ultra-stable CO2 laser with a wavelength . The absorption cell is
placed in a thermostat keeping the temperature at 273.15 K within 1.4 mK. We
were able to measure with a relative uncertainty as small as 3.8x10-5, which
represents an improvement of an order of magnitude for an integration time
comparable to our previous measurement published in 2007 [1
A widely tunable 10-m quantum cascade laser phase-locked to a state-of-the-art mid-infrared reference for precision molecular spectroscopy
We report the coherent phase-locking of a quantum cascade laser (QCL) at
10-m to the secondary frequency standard of this spectral region, a CO2
laser stabilized on a saturated absorption line of OsO4. The stability and
accuracy of the standard are transferred to the QCL resulting in a line width
of the order of 10 Hz, and leading to our knowledge to the narrowest QCL to
date. The locked QCL is then used to perform absorption spectroscopy spanning 6
GHz of NH3 and methyltrioxorhenium, two species of interest for applications in
precision measurements.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Absolute frequency measurement of an SF6 two-photon line using a femtosecond optical comb and sum-frequency generation
International audienceWe demonstrate a new simple technique to measure IR frequencies near 30 THz using a femtosecond (fs) laser optical comb and sum-frequency generation. The optical frequency is directly compared to the distance between two modes of the fs laser, and the resulting beat note is used to control this distance which depends only on the repetition rate fr of the fs laser. The absolute frequency of a CO2 laser stabilized onto an SF6 two-photon line has been measured for the first time. This line is an attractive alternative to the usual saturated absorption OsO4 resonances used for the stabilization of CO2 lasers. First results demonstrate a fractional Allan deviation of 3.10-14 at 1 s
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