Nonstationary collisional dynamics in determining nitric oxide laser-induced fluorescence spectra

Quantitative analysis of laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) signals of nitric oxide requires properly accounting for the effects of temperature, collisions, and laser and detection properties on the measured signals. Over the past, LIF properties of nitric oxide were studied for a range of conditions, from well-controlled burners to internal combustion engines. The knowledge gained from these studies has been compiled into a model and software tool that now allows the computation of LIF spectra/signals for given experimental conditions. However, the excitation dynamics are treated in a simplified fashion. The role of nonstationary excitation dynamics on the LIF signal is discussed utilizing a comprehensive, time-dependent, multilevel rate equation model.