LIF and emission studies of copper and nitrogen

A technique is developed to determine the rotational temperature of nitrogen molecular ion, N2(+), from the emission spectra of B-X transition, when P and R branches are not resolved. Its validity is tested on simulated spectra of the 0-1 band of N2(+) produced under low resolution. The method is applied to experimental spectra of N2(+) taken in the shock layer of a blunt body at distances of 1.91, 2.54, and 3.18 cm from the body. The laser induced fluorescence (LIF) spectra of copper atoms is analyzed to obtain the free stream velocities and temperatures. The only broadening mechanism considered is Doppler broadening. The temperatures are obtained by manual curve fitting, and the results are compared with least square fits. The agreement on the average is within 10 percent