Speed-dependent line profile: A test of a unified model from the Doppler to the collisional regime for molecule-molecule collisions

A speed-dependent line profile combining soft and hard fully correlated Dicke-narrowing collisions was recently successfully tested on Ar-broadened H-2 spectra in a wide density and temperature range. A further test for mixtures of H-2 in nitrogen molecules (instead of Ar atoms) is presented. This test is also based on high resolution Raman investigation of the isotropic Q(1) line of H-2 from low to high density at various temperatures. The same consistency of the speed-dependent line profile as for H-2-Ar is obtained for H-2-N-2 through a remarkable agreement with all the data by using a unique set of four parameters (the collisional width and shift, the kinetic frequency, and a characteristic velocity memory parameter). The present study is a preliminary step for the hydrogen CARS thermometry in H-2-air flames at high pressure. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-9606(00)01533-6].