The absorption spectrum of short-lived isotopic variant of water, H₂¹⁵O: Tentative detection at the Earth's atmosphere

A calculated infrared vibration–rotation spectrum of isotopically modified water, H215O, is presented. Oxygen-15 has a half-life of about 2 minutes and H215O may be formed in the atmosphere during thunderstorms as a result of photonuclear processes or when the atmosphere is irradiated by cosmic γ-rays. Variational nuclear motion calculations of vibrational and vibrational-rotational levels up to 25000 cm−1 and up to J = 10 in angular momentum are performed within the framework of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation using an accurate water potential function. The line shape parameters for H215O are estimated. Spectral ranges that are promising for the detection of H215O in the atmosphere are identified and a search for spectral signatures conducted. A spectral feature is tentatively assigned to the 752 (0 1 0) - 643 (0 0 0) line of H215O