The near-infrared (1.30-1.70 microm) absorption spectrum of methane down to 77 K.

The high resolution absorption spectrum of methane has been recorded at liquid nitrogen temperature by direct absorption spectroscopy between 1.30 and 1.70 microm (5850-7700 cm(-1)) using a newly developed cryogenic cell and a series of DFB diode lasers. The investigated spectral range includes part of the tetradecad and the full icosad regions for which only very partial theoretical analysis are available. The analysis of the low temperature spectrum will benefit from the reduction of the rotational congestion and from the narrowing by a factor of 2 of the Doppler linewidth allowing the resolution of a number of multiplets. Moreover, the energy value and rotational assignment of the angular momentum J of the lower state of a given transition can be obtained from the temperature variation of its line intensity. This procedure is illustrated in selected spectral regions by a continuous monitoring of the spectrum during the cell cool-down to 77 K, the temperature value being calculated at each instant from the measured Doppler linewidth. A short movie showing the considerable change of a spectrum during cool-down is attached as Supplementary Material. The method applied to a 30 cm(-1) section of the tetradecad spectrum around 6110 cm(-1) has allowed an unambiguous determination of the J values of part of the observed transitions.