Abstract

An exhaustive, theoretical study is made of the various models that have been proposed to represent band absorption. These models are compared with each other; a derivation is given of the regions where they predict the same absorption. The regions of validity for various useful approximations to these models are also given. The statistical model is extended to include the random superposition of a finite number of Elsasser bands. Thus a continuous spectrum of absorption curves is obtained between the results for the Elsasser and the pure statistical models. The absorption predicted by the statistical model when there is a specific number of spectral lines in the frequency interval under consideration is compared with the limit as the number of lines approaches infinity. It is shown that the shape of the absorption curve obtained from the statistical model is independent of the distribution of line intensities in the band for most cases of interest. The absorption from the statistical model including the effects of overlapping is shown to depend only on an average equivalent width for a single line. This result is used to derive the band absorption for the statistical model with Lorentz, Doppler, and other line shapes.

© 1958 Optical Society of America

Quasi-Random Model of Band Absorption*

Philip J. Wyatt, V. Robert Stull, and Gilbert N. Plass
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 52(11) 1209-1217 (1962)

Useful Representations for Measurements of Spectral Band Absorption*

Gilbert N. Plass
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 50(9) 868-875 (1960)

Elsasser Model for Band Absorption; Series Representation of a Useful Integral

Walter S. Seitz and Dean V. Lundholm
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 54(3) 315-318 (1964)

Modulated Band-Absorption Model

Jean I. F. King
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 55(11) 1498-1503 (1965)

Infrared Transmission of Synthetic Atmospheres.* IV. Application of Theoretical Band Models

J. N. Howard, D. E. Burch, and Dudley Williams
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 46(5) 334-338 (1956)