Asymmetry factor, spectral

FIGURE 9.13 (Continued) (c) same as (a), except for the variation of the spectral asymmetry factor (d) same as (a), except for the distribution of the phase function. 

On pp. 31 Iff., a preliminary discussion of the symmetry of induced line profiles was given. The spectral lines encountered in collision-induced absorption show a striking asymmetry which is described roughly by a Boltzmann factor, Eq. 6.59. However, it is clear that at any fixed frequency shift, the intensity ratio of red and blue wings is not always given exactly by a Boltzmann factor, for example if dimer structures of like pairs shape the profile, or more generally in the vibrational bands. We will next consider the latter case in some detail. 

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