UNIVERSITY OF COLOGNE

Low Energy Bending Modes of Small Carbon Clusters: Laboratory Terahertz Spectroscopy within the Laboratoire Européen Associé (LEA)

LEA HiRes is the acronym for “Laboratoire Européen Associé - High Resolution Molecular Spectroscopy". This LEA involves six laboratories from three countries: Belgium, France and Germany. It aims at developing a regional structure promoting the applications of High Resolution Spectroscopy in the field of Molecular Physics. Applications concern planetary science, atmospheric studies, astrophysics of the interstellar medium, time dependent chemistry, analytical chemistry, and process analysis. The laboratories share their equipments and favour the exchange of researchers. For more details see the LEA homepage.

LEA HiRes at Cologne

It is a challenging task for world wide laboratory spectroscopy groups to study postulated interstellar molecules under laboratory conditions and to obtain reliable spectral data for their astronomical detection. The aim of the research at Cologne in the framework of the Associated European Laboratory for High Resolution Spectroscopy (LEA HiRes) is to extend and expand our present studies to a new domain of postulated interstellar molecules that have so far eluded laboratory detection and thus spectroscopic scrutiny. Our main targets are carbon chain molecules and their low bending modes, radicals and ions which are of interstellar relevance.