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Optimising hybrid rotational femtosecond/picosecond coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (HR-CARS) in nitrogen at high pressures and temperatures

We demonstrate the use of hybrid rotational femtosecond/picosecond (fs/ps) coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (HR-CARS) as a technique for temperature measurements in nitrogen gas at high pressures and temperatures. A broadband pulse shaper-adjusted 42 fs pulse interacts with a narrow-bandwidth, frequency-upconverted 5.5 ps pulse in a cell containing nitrogen at pressures of 1-70 atm and temperatures of 300-1000 K. A computational code is used to model spectra and fit experimental results to obtain best-fit temperatures. We demonstrate good qualitative fits as well as good accuracy and precision between thermocouple measured and best-fit temperatures over the explored pressure and temperature regimes. The overall average percentage temperature difference between thermocouple measurements and best-fit temperatures is -0.3% with a standard deviation of 7.1%, showing the suitability of HR-CARS for characterising high pressure and temperature environments.