A new analysis of the vibration-rotation spectrum of CH from solar spectra

Abstract In the solar spectrum, CH vibration-rotation lines are excited to higher vibrational and much higher rotational quantum numbers than in any laboratory source. We have observed, for the first time, a very large number of new lines (1-0 and 2-1 up to J = 34.5, 3-2 up to J = 31.5, and even 4-3, never seen before, up to J = 24.5) on solar spectra obtained from space, with the ATMOS-SL3 instrument. A total of 558 lines have been used to derive new accurate molecular constants for the X 2 Π ground state of CH.