Glenn Stark

Department of Physics
Wellesley College
Wellesley, MA
 
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Research and Professional Information

Education:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, B.S., Physics (1976)
University of California, Berkeley, Ph.D., Physics (1985)

Research Interests:

My research is in the field of experimental molecular spectroscopy. My laboratory programs emphasize, but are not limited to, molecular transitions of interest to the astrophysical, aeronomic, and planetary atmospheres communities. The bulk of my work has involved the measurement and interpretation of high-resolution absorption spectra of vacuum ultraviolet (100-200 nm) and extreme ultraviolet (50-100 nm) transitions. I am also active in the field of Fourier transform spectroscopy of diatomic molecules, and I have a continuing interest in laser spectroscopies of diatomics.

Research Projects:

1. In the past fifteen years I have been involved in laboratory studies of the EUV (extreme ultraviolet) and VUV (vacuum ultraviolet) absorption spectra of molecular nitrogen, molecular oxygen, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide. I have measured and analyzed absolute photoabsorption cross sections (or equivalently, transition probabilities or oscillator strengths), line widths, and wavelengths of molecular features that are needed for the interpretation of the photophysics and photochemistry of both astronomical sources and the Earth’s atmosphere. Most recently, I have been concentrating on predissociating transitions in N₂ (80-100 nm), on the CO₂ spectrum in the 91 - 120 nm region, and on the complex SO₂ absorption bands near 200 nm. These projects are supported by a NASA Planetary Atmospheres grant to Wellesley College. The N₂ and CO₂ measurements are being carried out at the Photon Factory synchrotron facility in Tsukuba, Japan, in collaboration with colleagues in the Atomic and Molecular Physics Group at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the National Research Council of Canada, and the Photon Factory. The SO₂ measurements are performed on the VUV Fourier transform spectrometer at Imperial College, London.

 2. I spent portions of recent sabbatical leaves (1996, 2001) at the Australian National University, working in the labs of Dr. Brenton Lewis in the Research School of Physical Sciences and Technology. There, we used high-resolution, tunable VUV laser systems to study transitions in CO and O₂. The CO work concentrated on transition strength measurements, while the O₂ work focused on the spectroscopy of high-lying Rydberg states in that molecule. We are currently collaborating on the analysis of my N₂ photoabsorption data and on the development of a comprehensive model of the N₂ absorption spectrum in the 90 - 100 nm region.

3. I have recently been collaborating with Professor Robbie Berg and Tom Bauer of the Physics Department to develop a laser cooling and trapping apparatus. In the summer of 2002 I supervised two physics students, Ama Abeberese ('04) and Frannie D'Arcangelo ('03), working on this project. Building on the accomplishments of a number of other students in the lab, Ama and Frannie successfully trapped rubidium atoms and cooled them to a temperature of only a fraction of a degree above absolute zero. Kali Wilson ('04) completed her senior thesis on this project in the 2003-04 academic year. In the summer of 2004, Oana Ivan ('07) and Rebecca Ward (McDaniel College, '06) re-designed our optical and spectroscopy systems to improve the reliability of the trapping apparatus. Sheila Dwyer ('05) completed a senior thesis in the laser cooling lab in 2005.

 Publications

G. Stark and P. L. Smith, Spectroscopic Techniques: Ultraviolet, in Springer Handbook of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, edited by G. Drake, Springer Science, New York, pp. 641 – 656 (2006).

G. Stark, K. P. Huber, K. Yoshino, P. L. Smith, and K. Ito, Oscillator strength and linewidth measurements of dipole-allowed transitions in N₂ between 93.5 and 99.5 nm, J. Chem. Phys. 123, 214303 (2005).

V. E. Haverd, B. R. Lewis, S. T. Gibson, and G. Stark, Rotational effects in the band oscillator strengths and predissociation linewidths for the lowest ¹P – X ¹S⁺_g transitions of N₂, J. Chem. Phys. 123, 214304 (2005).

Ch. Jungen, K. P. Huber, M. Jungen, and G. Stark, The near-threshold absorption spectrum of N₂, J. Chem. Phys., 118, 4517 - 4538 (2003).

J. Rufus, G. Stark, P. L. Smith, J. C. Pickering, and A. P. Thorne, High resolution photoabsorption cross section measurements of SO₂, 2: 220 to 325 nm at 295 K, J. Geophys. Res. 108, 2002JE001931 (2003).

B. R. Lewis, S. T. Gibson, J. P. England, G. Stark, and J. B. West, Anomalous isotopic predissociation in the F ³P_u (v = 1) state of O₂, J. Chem. Phys. 116, 3286 (2002).

G. Stark, P. L. Smith, K. Yoshino, J. R. Esmond, T. Matsui, and K. Ito, Line oscillator strength measurements in the d(7)-X(0) and e(4)-X(0) bands of CO, Astrophys. J. Suppl. 138, 305 (2002).

J. R. Gillis, A. Goldman, G. Stark, and C. P. Rinsland, Line parameters for the A ²S⁺ - X ²P bands of OH, J. Quant. Spectr. & Rad. Transfer, 68, 225 (2001).

G. Stark, K. P. Huber, K. Yoshino, M. C. Chan, T. Matsui, P. L. Smith, and K. Ito, Line Oscillator Strength Measurements in the 0-0 Band of the c₄^{' 1}S⁺_u - X ¹S⁺_g Transition of N₂, Astrophys. J. 531, 321 (2000).

G. Stark, B. R. Lewis, S. T. Gibson, and J. P. England, High-resolution oscillator strength measurements of the CO B ¹S⁺ – X ¹S⁺ (0,0) and (1,0) vibrational bands, Astrophys. J. 520, 732 (1999).

G. Stark, P. L. Smith, J. Rufus, A. P. Thorne, J. C. Pickering, and G. Cox, High-resolution photoabsorption cross section measurements of SO₂ at 295 K between 198 and 220 nm, J. Geophys. Res. 104, 16585 (1999).

G. Stark, B. R. Lewis, S. T. Gibson, and J. P. England, High-resolution oscillator strength measurements for high-v’ bands of the A ¹P(v’) - X ¹S⁺(v"=0) system of carbon monoxide, Astrophys. J. 505, 452 (1998).

G. Stark and P. L. Smith, Spectroscopic Techniques: Ultraviolet, in Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics Reference Book, edited by G. Drake, American Institute of Physics Press, New York, pp. 487-498 (1996).

K. Yoshino, G. Stark, J. R. Esmond, P. L. Smith, K. Ito, and T. Matsui, High-Resolution Absorption Cross Section Measurements of Supersonic Jet-Cooled Carbon Monoxide Between 92.5 and 97.4 nm, Astrophys. J. 438, 1013 (1995).

G. Stark, J. W. Brault, and M. C. Abrams, Fourier-transform Spectra of the A²S⁺ - X²P Dv = 0 Bands of OH and OD, J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 11, 3 (1994).

K. Huber, Ch. Jungen, K. Yoshino, K. Ito, and G. Stark, The f Rydberg Series in the Absorption Spectrum of N₂, J. Chem. Phys. 100, 7957 (1994).

P. L. Smith, G. Stark, K. Yoshino, and K. Ito, High-Resolution Oscillator Strength Measurements for the A(v)-X(0) Bands of Carbon Monoxide with 11 <= v <= 14, Astrophys. J. 431, L143 (1994).

G. Stark, K. Yoshino, P. L. Smith, J. R. Esmond, K. Ito, and M. H. Stevens, High-Resolution Absorption Cross Section Measurements of Carbon Monoxide at 20K Between 96.7 and 98.8 nm, Astrophys. J. 410, 837 (1993).

K. P. Huber, G. Stark, and K. Ito, Rotational Structure in the Hopfield Series of N₂, J. Chem. Phys. 98, 4471 (1993).

M. Eidelsberg, J. J. Benayoun, Y. Viala, F. Rostas, P. L. Smith, K. Yoshino, G. Stark, and C. A. Shettle, Recalibration of the Absorption /Photodissociation Spectra of CO and Its Isotopes Between 91 and 115 nm, Astron. Astrophys. 265, 839 (1992).

J. M. Thomas, G. Stark, and D. H. Katayama, An Analysis of the kinetics for the N₂ (A ³S⁺_u, v') + CO (X ¹S⁺, v"=0) energy transfer reaction and an upper limit for the rate constants of the reactions CO (a ³P , v'=0 and 1) + CF₄", J. Phys. Chem. 96, 8445 (1992).

G. Stark, P. L. Smith, K. Ito, and K. Yoshino, High-Resolution Photoabsorption Cross Sections of E ¹P - X ¹S⁺ Vibrational Bands of ¹²CO and ¹³CO, Astrophys. J. 395, 705 (1992).

G. Stark, P. L. Smith, K. P. Huber, K. Yoshino, M. H. Stevens, and K. Ito, Absorption Band Oscillator Strengths of N₂ Transitions Between 95.8 nm and 99.4 nm, J. Chem. Phys. 97, 4809 (1992).

P. L. Smith, G. Stark, K. Yoshino, K. Ito, and M. H. Stevens, Laboratory Absorption Spectra of Molecules at Interstellar Cloud Temperatures: First Measurements on CO at 97 nm, Astron. Astrophys. 252, L13 (1991).