High-Resolution Laboratory Terahertz Spectroscopy and Applications to Astrophysics

Publisher Summary The development of powerful monochromatic radiation sources for centimeter (cm) and millimeter (mm) wavelengths in the 1940s led to a new era in spectroscopy which allowed for precise studies of gas phase molecules with unbiased accuracy. The rotational energy states and transitions of many molecules have been studied since then under laboratory conditions and thus support the development of radio astronomy. High-resolution terahertz (THz) spectroscopy is an exciting field of current research because of its importance in astrophysics and molecular physics. New THz telescope facilities like ALMA, Herschel, and SOFIA make use of accurate (∆ν