Abstract
Hydroxyl (6–2) airglow emission intensity ratios for rotational temperature determination
Highlights
Hydroxyl airglow emissions are used extensively for studies of the upper mesosphere (e.g. Oermann and Gerndt, 1990; Sivjee, 1992; Scheer, 1995)
We report measurements of line ratios from the four lowest quantum number rotational states of the OH(6±2) band for comparison with values inferred from Mies, LWR and transition probabilities (T&L)
OH(6±2) band rotational temperatures inferred from a set of experimentally determined fractions of j¢-state transitions are 2 K lower than temperatures derived using LWR transition probabilities, 7 K lower than temperatures derived using Mies values and 13 K lower than values derived using T&L values
Summary
Hydroxyl airglow emissions are used extensively for studies of the upper mesosphere (e.g. Oermann and Gerndt, 1990; Sivjee, 1992; Scheer, 1995). Rotational temperatures are derived by comparing the intensities of two or more lines from dierent upper rotational states, as per Eq (1) (Mies, 1974). Intensity ratios of lines from the same upper state are constant, independent of temperature. We report measurements of line ratios from the four lowest quantum number rotational states of the OH(6±2) band for comparison with values inferred from Mies, LWR and T&L (see Table 1). R. French et al.: Hydroxyl (6±2) airglow emission intensity ratios for rotational temperature determination. 2.5 R1(1)/P1(3) 0.540 0.486 0.451 0.436 0.017 3.5 R1(2)/P1(4) 0.678 0.590 0.523 0.510 0.010 4.5 R1(3)/P1(5) 0.732 0.615 0.522 0.483 0.018 5.5 R1(4)/P1(6) 0.756 0.613 0.500 transitional probabilities of Mies, LWR, T&L and the experimentally determined Aa/Ab ratios
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