The Rotational Spectrum of H2Te

Area of Science:

• Molecular Spectroscopy
• Quantum Chemistry
• Astrophysics

Background:

• The hydrogen telluride (H2Te) molecule exhibits complex rotational energy level structures.
• Understanding these structures is crucial for interpreting spectra and identifying H2Te in extraterrestrial environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally characterize the anomalous "four-fold cluster effect" in H2Te's ground vibrational state.
• To accurately determine rotational and centrifugal distortion constants for all tellurium isotopomers.

Main Methods:

• High-resolution spectroscopy in the submillimeter-wave (90–472 GHz) and far-infrared (600–1600 GHz) regions.
• Utilized a source-modulated millimeter-wave spectrometer and a far-infrared sideband spectrometer.
• Employed a Bruker IFS 120 HR interferometer for far-infrared measurements (30–360 cm-1).

Main Results:

• Assigned 224 submillimeter-wave lines and 1695 far-infrared lines.
• Integrated ground-state combination differences from rotation-vibration bands.
• Obtained precise rotational and centrifugal distortion constants for eight tellurium isotopomers.

Conclusions:

• The study provides a comprehensive spectral characterization of H2Te.
• Accurate molecular constants were derived, aiding in theoretical modeling and astrophysical observations.