Laboratory rotational ground state transitions of NH3_3D+^+ and CF+^+

Aims. This paper reports accurate laboratory frequencies of the rotational ground state transitions of two astronomically relevant molecular ions, NH3D+ and CF+. Methods. Spectra in the millimeter-wave band were recorded by the method of rotational state-selective attachment of He-atoms to the molecular ions stored and cooled in a cryogenic ion trap held at 4 K. The lowest rotational transition in the A state (ortho state) of NH$_3$D$^+$ ($J_K = 1_0 - 0_0$), and the two hyperfine components of the ground state transition of CF$^+$($J = 1 - 0$) were measured with a relative precision better than $10^{-7}$. Results. For both target ions the experimental transition frequencies agree with recent observations of the same lines in different astronomical environments. In the case of NH$_3$D$^+$ the high-accuracy laboratory measurements lend support to its tentative identification in the interstellar medium. For CF$^+$ the experimentally determined hyperfine splitting confirms previous quantum-chemical calculations and the intrinsic spectroscopic nature of a double-peaked line profile observed in the $J = 1 - 0$ transition towards the Horsehead PDR.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure

The Potential of EnMAP and Sentinel-2 Data for Detecting Drought Stress Phenomena in Deciduous Forest Communities

Given the importance of forest ecosystems, the availability of reliable, spatially explicit information about the site-specific climate sensitivity of tree species is essential for implementing suitable adaptation strategies. In this study, airborne hyperspectral data were used to assess the response of deciduous species (dominated by European beech and Sessile and Pedunculate oak) to water stress during a summery dry spell. After masking canopy gaps, shaded crown areas and non-deciduous species, potentially indicative spectral indices, the Photochemical Reflectance Index (PRI), Moisture Stress Index (MSI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), and Chlorophyll Index (CI), were analyzed with respect to available maps of site-specific soil moisture regimes. PRI provided an important indication of site-specific photosynthetic stress on leaf level in relation to limitations in soil water availability. The CI, MSI and NDWI revealed statistically significant differences in total chlorophyll and water concentration at the canopy level. However, after reducing the canopy effects by normalizing these indices with respect to the structure-sensitive simple ratio (SR) vegetation index, it was not yet possible to identify site-specific concentration differences in leaf level at this early stage of the drought. The selected indicators were also tested with simulated EnMAP and Sentinel-2 data (derived from the original airborne data set). While PRI proved to be useful also in the spatial resolution of EnMAP (GSD = 30 m), this was not the case with Sentinel-2, owing to the lack of adequate spectral bands; the remaining indicators (MSI, CI, SR) were also successfully produced with Sentinel-2 data at superior spatial resolution (GSD = 10 m). The study confirms the importance of using earth observation systems for supplementing traditional ecological site classification maps, particularly during dry spells and heat waves when ecological gradients are increasingly reflected in the spectral response at the tree crown level. It also underlined the importance of using Sentinel-2 and EnMAP in synergy, as soon as both systems become available

aTrunk—An ALS-Based Trunk Detection Algorithm

This paper presents a rapid multi-return ALS-based (Airborne Laser Scanning) tree trunk detection approach. The multi-core Divide & Conquer algorithm uses a CBH (Crown Base Height) estimation and 3D-clustering approach to isolate points associated with single trunks. For each trunk, a principal-component-based linear model is fitted, while a deterministic modification of LO-RANSAC is used to identify an optimal model. The algorithm returns a vector-based model for each identified trunk while parameters like the ground position, zenith orientation, azimuth orientation and length of the trunk are provided. The algorithm performed well for a study area of 109 trees (about 2/3 Norway Spruce and 1/3 European Beech), with a point density of 7.6 points per m2, while a detection rate of about 75% and an overall accuracy of 84% were reached. Compared to crown-based tree detection methods, the aTrunk approach has the advantages of a high reliability (5% commission error) and its high tree positioning accuracy (0.59m average difference and 0.78m RMSE). The usage of overlapping segments with parametrizable size allows a seamless detection of the tree trunks

LABORATORY ROTATIONAL SPECTRUM OF l-C3H+ AND CONFIRMATION OF ITS ASTRONOMICAL DETECTION

The rotational spectrum of l-C3H+ has been measured in the millimeter-wave band in a 4 K cryogenic ion trap apparatus employing a novel mass-selective action spectroscopy method based on light induced reactions (LIR). Line positions of four rotational transitions (J = 1-2 up to J = 4-5) were observed with a relative precision of 3x10(-7). The experimental transition frequencies and derived spectroscopic constants agree with those from recent astronomical observations, and unambiguously confirm the detection of this astrochemically relevant carbocation in the Horsehead photodissociation region and toward Sgr B2(N)

Rotational state-dependent attachment of He atoms to cold molecular ions: An action spectroscopic scheme for rotational spectroscopy

We present a kinetics model description of a newly developed action spectroscopic method for rotational spectroscopy based on rotational state-dependent three-body attachment of He atoms to cold molecular ions stored in a cryogenic 22-pole ion trap. The model results from numerical simulations and an approximate analytical expression are compared to measurements of the J = 1-0 rotational transition of CD+, for which we obtain a refined transition frequency of 453.5218509(7) GHz. From the analysis of the spectroscopic data recorded at varying experimental conditions, e.g. over a wide range of He number densities and excitation powers, we deduce that the ternary rate coefficient in the first excited rotational state of CD+ is reduced to (55 +/- 5)% of the rotational ground state value. This decrease in the rate coefficient can be rationalized as an increase of the redissociation probability in the ternary collision process. A summary of rotational spectroscopy measurements of other molecular ions using the new method will be given, and its general applicability is discussed. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

High-resolution vibrational and rotational spectroscopy of CD2H+ in a cryogenic ion trap

The low-lying rotational states (J= 0..... 5) of CD2H+ have been probed by high-resolutionro-vibrational and pure rotational spectroscopy, applying several action spectroscopic methods in a cryogenic 22-pole ion trap. For this, the v(1) ro-vibrational band has been revisited, detecting 108 transitions, among which 36 are new. The use of a frequency comb system allowed us to measure the ro-vibrational transitions with high precision and accuracy, typically better than 1 MHz. The high precision has been confirmed by comparing equal combination differences in the ground and excited state. Moreover, precise predictions of pure rotational transitions were possible for the ground state. Twenty-five rotational transitions have been detected directly by a novel IR-mm-wave double resonance method, giving rise to highly accurate ground state spectroscopic parameters. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Gas-Phase Vibrational Spectroscopy of the Hydrocarbon Cations l-C3H+, HC3H+, and c-C3H2+: Structures, Isomers, and the Influence of Ne-Tagging

We report the first gas-phase vibrational spectra of the hydrocarbon ions C3H+ and C3H2+. The ions were produced by electron impact ionization of allene. Vibrational spectra of the mass-selected ions tagged with Ne were recorded using infrared predissociation spectroscopy in a cryogenic ion trap instrument using the intense and widely tunable radiation of a free electron laser. Comparison of high-level quantum chemical calculations and resonant depletion measurements revealed that the C3H+ ion is exclusively formed in its most stable linear isomeric form, whereas two isomers were observed for C3H2+. Bands of the energetically favored cyclic c-C3H2+ are in excellent agreement with calculated anharmonic frequencies, whereas for the linear open-shell HCCCH+ ((2)Pi(g)) a detailed theoretical description of the spectrum remains challenging because of Renner-Teller and spin-orbit interactions. Good agreement between theory and experiment, however, is observed for the frequencies of the stretching modes for which an anharmonic treatment was possible. In the case of linear l-C3H+, small but non-negligible effects of the attached Ne on the ion fundamental band positions and the overall spectrum were found