Atmospheric Opacy and Phase deay at MM/SUBMM wavelengths: experiments and models

by Juan R. Pardo-Carrion (ICMM CSIC - Department of Nanostructures, Surfaces, Coatings, and Molecular Astrophysics - Madrid, Spain)

Wednesday 17 Feb 2016, 16:00 → 17:00 Europe/Rome

Aula Conversi (Dipartimento di Fisica - Ed. G. Marconi)

An extensive study of the atmospheric transmission at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths has been performed since the early 1990s with several Fourier Transform Spectrometers (FTS) mounted on sites of interest for ground-based submillimeter astronomy such as Mauna Kea (Hawaii), Chajnantor (Chile) or the South Pole. The goal of these works has been to compile a data base of accurately calibrated atmospheric transmission spectra for use in refining atmospheric opacity models. In particular, the study of the "quasi-continuum" opacity (excess of atmospheric absorption that cannot be attributed to pure rotational lines of atmospheric gases) is paramount. In this talk, the main experimental results and their theoretical implications on atmospheric radiative transfer models will be reviewed.