Contributed
Probing high temperature chemistry with spectroscopy

Chemical processes and species encountered at high temperatures are important in a wide range of scientific and applied fields including combustion, atmospheric chemistry, and molecular astronomy. Understanding these reactions and molecules, however, is difficult due to the complex nature of the chemistry that occurs in extreme environments. New strategies are needed to produce, isolate, and study these phenomena. I will discuss recent developments regarding a novel spectroscopic tool, the transparent microreactor, for attacking molecular questions in high temperature chemistry [1]. Its capabilities not only enable the complete mapping of kinetic reaction networks, but also open new windows onto high temperature behavior by providing an additional dimension of quantum state specific data.

[1] J. H. Baraban, D. E. David, G. B. Ellison, and J. W. Daily. An Optically Accessible Pyrolysis Micro- Reactor. Review of Scientific Instruments, 87(1):014101, 2016.