Application of the Hartmann-Tran profile to analysis of H2O spectra

•Hartmann-Tran profile (HTP) for H2O spectral lines.•Requirements for experimental data to retrieve HTP parameters.•Systematic errors in line intensity and line-shape parameters vs. fitted profile.

The Hartmann-Tran profile (HTP), which has been recently recommended as a new standard in spectroscopic databases, is used to analyze spectra of several lines of H2O diluted in N2, SF6, and in pure H2O. This profile accounts for various mechanisms affecting the line-shape and can be easily computed in terms of combinations of the complex Voigt profile. A multi-spectrum fitting procedure is implemented to simultaneously analyze spectra of H2O transitions acquired at different pressures. Multi-spectrum fitting of the HTP to a theoretical model confirms that this profile provides an accurate description of H2O line-shapes in terms of residuals and accuracy of fitted parameters. This profile and its limiting cases are also fit to measured spectra for three H2O lines in different vibrational bands. The results show that it is possible to obtain accurate HTP line-shape parameters when measured spectra have a sufficiently high signal-to-noise ratio and span a broad range of collisional-to-Doppler line widths. Systematic errors in the line area and differences in retrieved line-shape parameters caused by the overly simplistic line-shape models are quantified. Also limitations of the quadratic speed-dependence model used in the HTP are demonstrated in the case of an SF6 broadened H2O line, which leads to a strongly asymmetric line-shape.