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Spectral line shape or spectral line profile describes the form of an electromagnetic spectrum in the vicinity of a spectral line – a region of stronger or weaker intensity in the spectrum. Ideal line shapes include Lorentzian , Gaussian and Voigt functions, whose parameters are the line position, maximum height and half-width. [ 1 ]
A spectral line may be observed either as an emission line or an absorption line. Which type of line is observed depends on the type of material and its temperature relative to another emission source. An absorption line is produced when photons from a hot, broad spectrum source pass through a cooler material.
The changes between these levels are called "transitions" and are plotted on the Jablonski diagram. Radiative transitions involve either the absorption or emission of a photon. As mentioned above, these transitions are denoted with solid arrows with their tails at the initial energy level and their tips at the final energy level.
An emission spectrum is formed when an excited gas is viewed directly through a spectroscope. Schematic diagram of spontaneous emission. Emission spectroscopy is a spectroscopic technique which examines the wavelengths of photons emitted by atoms or molecules during their transition from an excited state to a lower energy state.
The absorption that occurs due to a transition between two states is referred to as an absorption line and a spectrum is typically composed of many lines. The frequencies at which absorption lines occur, as well as their relative intensities, primarily depend on the electronic and molecular structure of the sample.
The classical example of a discrete spectrum (for which the term was first used) is the characteristic set of discrete spectral lines seen in the emission spectrum and absorption spectrum of isolated atoms of a chemical element, which only absorb and emit light at particular wavelengths. The technique of spectroscopy is based on this phenomenon.
A diagram indicating the equivalent width corresponding to the absorption line, which is shown in red. The equivalent width of a spectral line is a measure of the area of the line on a plot of intensity versus wavelength in relation to underlying continuum level. It is found by forming a rectangle with a height equal to that of continuum ...
An overview of absorption of electromagnetic radiation.This example shows the general principle using visible light as a specific example. A white light source—emitting light of multiple wavelengths—is focused on a sample (the pairs of complementary colors are indicated by the yellow dotted lines).