Beckman J E, Harries J E
Appl Opt. 1975 Feb 1;14(2):470-85. doi: 10.1364/AO.14.000470.
The paper describes the results and methods of work which has been in progress during the past five years at the U.K. National Physical Laboratory and Queen Mary College, London on the submillimeter spectrum and its application to atmospheric and astrophysical problems. The paper begins with descriptions of the spectroscopic techniques evolved and used, which provide spectral resolution more than half an order of magnitude finer than previously available, particularly at the lower frequency end of the range, from 15 cm(-1) to 25 cm(-1). Excellent signal-to-noise ratios and reproducibility have been obtained and applied as shown in the second part of the paper to both atmospheric studies (chiefly at NPL) and astrophysical problems (chiefly at QMC). The former are illustrated with aircraft-borne measurements of minor species, such as H(2)O, O(3), HNO(3), and other gases, the latter with a consideration of the cosmic background at submillimeter wavelengths. A common thread is provided by developments in observational and interpretational spectroscopic techniques needed to overcome problems peculiar to this region of the spectrum. Our current progress in understanding the region and also prospects for future submillimeter spectroscopy are each brought into review in this work.
本文描述了过去五年间英国国家物理实验室和伦敦玛丽女王学院在亚毫米波光谱及其在大气和天体物理问题中的应用方面所开展工作的结果和方法。文章开篇介绍了所研发和使用的光谱技术，这些技术提供的光谱分辨率比以往的技术高出半个数量级以上，特别是在15厘米⁻¹至25厘米⁻¹这一频段的低频端。已获得了出色的信噪比和可重复性，并如本文第二部分所示，应用于大气研究（主要在国家物理实验室）和天体物理问题（主要在玛丽女王学院）。前者通过飞机载具对诸如H₂O、O₃、HNO₃等微量气体的测量加以说明，后者则通过对亚毫米波波长的宇宙背景的考量进行阐述。克服该光谱区域特有问题所需的观测和解释性光谱技术的发展提供了一条共同主线。我们目前在理解该区域方面取得的进展以及未来亚毫米波光谱学的前景在这项工作中均得到了审视。
