2D-CORTICO

Astronomical observations rely on high quality fundamental molecular physics measurements and theoretical calculations. This is especially important for molecular astrophysics, where laboratory measurements are needed to provide frequencies to search for molecules in space and theoretical calculations provide inelastic collision rate coefficients for those molecules to model observational data. There are glaring omissions in the current body of work, as (1) radicals with large amplitude motion (RLAMs) have not been found in space due to lack of laboratory measurements and (2) theoretical models of collisional (de)excitation of molecules are difficult to benchmark to experimental data. The combination and development of new experimental techniques can improve this situation. Pulsed laser photolysis (PLP) will be used to selectively produce RLAMs. Two dimensional (2D) Fourier transform millimeter wave spectroscopy will be developed 1) to automatically assign complicated spectra expected in RLAMs and 2) to measure inelastic collision rate coefficients through measuring inelastic transitions between energy levels. Finally, the measurements will be performed in a buffer gas cooling (BGC) cells to reach a collisional environment that matches the temperatures found in space while also increasing rotational transition strengths. The results of the 2D-CORTICO project will be compared with high level quantum theoretical calculations and will lead to the development 2D spectroscopy for the first time in the millimeter wave region.