Direct frequency comb spectroscopy of HCN to evaluate line lists

We report direct frequency comb spectroscopy of the 2ν₁ band of H¹³CN in the short-wave infrared (λ = 1.56 μm) towards experimental validation of molecular line lists that support observatories like JWST. The laboratory measurements aim to test spectral reference data generated from an experimentally accurate potential energy surface (PES) and an ab initio dipole moment surface (DMS) calculated from quantum chemistry theory. Benchmarking theory with experiment will improve confidence in new astrophysics and astrochemistry inferred from spectroscopic observations of HCN and HNC. Here we describe our instrumentation and initial results using a cross-dispersed spectrometer with a virtually imaged phased array (VIPA).