title: Rovibrational spectra of ammonia. II. Detailed analysis, comparison, and prediction of spectroscopic assignments for 14NH3, 15NH3, and 14ND3.
abstract: Several aspects of ammonia rovibrational spectra have been investigated using the new HSL-2 potential energy surface that includes an approximate correction for nonadiabatic effects. The unprecedented accuracy of rovibrational energy levels and transition energies computed using HSL-2 was demonstrated in Part I of this study. For (14)NH(3), new assignments for a few ν(3) + ν(4) band transitions and energy levels are suggested, and discrepancies between computed and HITRAN energy levels in the 2ν(4) band are analyzed (2ν(4) is the most difficult band below 5000 cm(-1)). New assignments are suggested for existing or missing 2ν(4) levels. Several new vibrational bands are identified from existing, unassigned HITRAN data, including 2ν(2) + ν(4), (ν(3) + ν(4)) -A(')∕A("), ν(1) + 2ν(2), and 2ν(2) + 2ν(4). The strong mixing between the 2ν(4) and 2ν(2) + ν(4) bands is carefully examined and found to be the source of the difficulties in the experimental modeling of 2ν(4). Discussion is presented for preliminary J = 10 results, where the overall root-mean-square error is estimated to be less than 0.039 cm(-1). The analysis of the 4ν(2) band demonstrates both the reliability and the accuracy of predictions from HSL-2. The full list of computed J = 0 band origins (with assignments) and the inversion splittings up to 7000-8000 cm(-1) above the zero-point energy are presented. J = 0-2 levels are reported for those bands below 5100 cm(-1) that are missing from the HITRAN database. For (15)NH(3), excellent agreement is found for the available ν(2) and ν(3) + ν(4)(E) transition energies, but significant deficiencies are shown for HITRAN levels and several corrections are suggested. The (15)N isotopic effects are presented for the J = 0-6 levels of 13 HITRAN bands. For (14)ND(3), we reproduce the pure rotational inversion spectra line frequencies with an accuracy similar to that for (14)NH(3). However, it is not possible to reproduce simultaneously all four pairs of inversion-split vibrational fundamentals to better than 0.05 cm(-1) uncertainty. It is suggested that a reanalysis of some suspicious (14)ND(3) fundamental bands is required. The analyses presented here and in Part I show that rovibrational energy levels and transition frequencies computed with HSL-2 (with nonadiabatic corrections) remain highly accurate well beyond the experimental data used in the refinement procedure. Calculations using HSL-2 are capable of revealing many deficiencies in experimental analyses of ammonia spectra and provide reliable predictions with similar accuracy. It is expected that the results of this study will be useful in the future interpretation of high-resolution spectra from laboratory experiments or from astronomical observations. The present work represents a very significant advance in the state of our knowledge of the spectroscopy of ammonia and its isotopologues.
authors.affiliation: SETI Institute, 189 Bernardo Ave., Suite 100, Mountain View, California 94043, USA. Xinchuan.Huang-1@nasa.gov
authors.forename: Xinchuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Schwenke
authors.forename: Timothy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Lee