High resolution Fourier transform spectroscopy with the Imperial College (IC) UV-FT spectrometer, and its applications to astrophysics and atmospheric physics: a review

The improvements in astronomical telescopes and their spectrographs, and in spectrographs used for studies of the earth's atmosphere have created a requirement for matching improvements in the laboratory atomic and molecular database needed in the analysis of the astrophysical and atmospheric spectra. The technique of Fourier transform spectroscopy (FTS) is described and its suitability in improving the atomic and molecular databases is discussed. The extension of the wavelength range of the Fourier transform (FT) spectrometry into the vacuum ultraviolet to 140 nm is described. Examples are given of recent atomic and molecular spectroscopy research using the Imperial College (IC) UV-FT spectrometer and applications to astrophysics and atmospheric physics are given. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.