Vibrational spectra of nitrogen in simple mixtures at high pressures

Previous investigations have revealed a considerable difference between the spectral behavior of a molecule in a pure substance and that in a mixture. To gain more insight into the influence of the intermolecular interaction and of the mass of the molecules, we performed high-resolution measurements of the linewidths and peak positions of the vibrational Raman spectrum of pure nitrogen, nitrogen in argon, and nitrogen in helium. The research was carried out at room temperature and at pressures up to the melting line. It turns out that, in contrast with expectation, the linewidth as well as the frequency shift is essentially the same for pure nitrogen as for nitrogen diluted in argon, although both the mass and the potential well depth are quite different. The experimental results show the same tendency as recent computer simulations.