The Lamb-dip spectrum of methylcyanide: Precise rotational transition frequencies and improved ground-state rotational parameters

Methylcyanide, CH3CN, is an important interstellar species, and therefore the accurate knowledge of precise rest frequencies for rotational transitions as well as ground-state rotational and hyperfine constants is needed. In this work the hyperfine structure of the millimeter- and submillimeter-wave spectra of CH3CN has been further investigated. In addition, accurate THz measurements have been carried out for the first time. Consequently, the present investigation allowed us to provide the most accurate ground state rotational and hyperfine parameters known at the moment for CH3C14N. To resolve the hyperfine structure of the rotational transitions observed, the Lamb-dip technique has been exploited. Both frequency-modulated and video-type detections have been employed.