A hyperfine-resolved spectroscopic model for vanadium monoxide (51V16O)

Abstract

Vanadium monoxide (VO) is believed to play an important role in the atmospheres of hot-Jupiters, but high-resolution studies have so far failed to detect it, at least in part because of the inaccuracy of available lists. It is likely that the large hyperfine splittings in the spectra of VO, arising from the large nuclear spin of the V atom, has contributed to the non-detections with the current hyperfine-unresolved VOMYT line list. To aid in the production of a new line list, a fully hyperfine-resolved spectroscopic model has been constructed which includes 15 low-lying electronic states (6 quartets and 9 doublets) of VO with the inclusion of hyperfine couplings based on use of the new, hyperfine-resolved version of the diatomic variational nuclear motion programme Duo. The new spectroscopic model is refined against empirical Marvel energies derived from experimental transitions, and hyperfine couplings are fit for the 3 electronic states for which hyperfine effects have been resolved in lab spectra. This model is used to assign some previously identified perturbations.