Precise dipole moment of methanol by microwave Stark spectroscopy III: Parent 12CH316OH species

In this work, precise Stark effect measurements have been carried out on several transitions in the first four torsional states of methanol. The Stark shifted transition frequencies for a wide range of steady electric field have been measured with an accuracy of approximately +/- 10 kHz. Detailed analysis of the data allowed for the determination of the dipole moment components in the first four torsional states of the ground vibrational state. The extrapolated zero field frequencies. of the transitions studied have been determined and found to be in perfect agreement with known values. For the torsional ground state the values of mu(a) = 0.8961(2) and mu(b) = 1.4201(9) have been obtained, whereas for the first excited torsional state the corresponding values obtained are 0.9035(1) and 1.4317(5) (These values are in Debye, denoted by D). These values confirm the fact that the dipole moment values increase at a considerable rate as one move toward higher torsional states as seen in previous studies. To our knowledge, this is the first time the most accurate and elaborate dipole moment values of methanol are being reported. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.