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The theory of Baranger is discussed, relating it to the approach taken by Anderson in the last chapter and that taken by Fano in the one to follow. Baranger is concerned to describe pressure broadening in a band of close, overlapping lines. His original concern was with line broadening by fast-moving electrons in a plasma, which allowed him to use the impact approximation, but not to assume that collisions may be associated with classical paths. For this reason, although matter here is in the form of neutral molecules, the use of Baranger’s theory in its most general form requires that collisions be treated in terms of quantum scattering theory. In forming the correlation function, Baranger sets the algebra in a product space where line vectors take the place of the energy states used by Anderson, and the optical cross-section that governs line broadening is replaced by the matrix of an operator in line space, with line widths and shifts on the diagonal and line coupling parameters for the other elements. In the case of isolated lines, Anderson’s theory may be regained, but the introduction of line space paved the way, later on, for a much more general viewpoint.
Presenting the quantum mechanical theory of pressure broadening and its application in atmospheric science, this is a unique treatment of the topic and a useful resource for researchers and professionals alike. Rayer proceeds from molecular processes to broad scale atmospheric physics to bring together both sides of the problem of remote sensing. Explanations of the relationship between a series of increasingly general theoretical papers are provided and all key expressions are fully derived to provide a firm understanding of assumptions made as the subject evolved. This book will help the atmospheric physicist to cross into the quantum world and appreciate the more theoretical aspects of line shape and its importance to their own work.
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