An isolated line-shape model to go beyond the Voigt profile in spectroscopic databases and radiative transfer codes

We demonstrate that a previously proposed model opens the route for the inclusion of refined non-Voigt profiles in spectroscopic databases and atmospheric radiative transfer codes. Indeed, this model fulfills many essential requirements: (i) it takes both velocity changes and the speed dependences of the pressure-broadening and -shifting coefficients into account. (ii) It leads to accurate descriptions of the line shapes of very different molecular systems. Tests made for pure H₂, CO₂ and O₂ and for H₂O diluted in N₂ show that residuals are down to ≃0.2 % of the peak absorption, (except for the untypical system of H₂ where a maximum residual of ±3% is reached), thus fulfilling the precision requirements of the most demanding remote sensing experiments. (iii) It is based on a limited set of parameters for each absorption line that have known dependences on pressure and can thus be stored in databases. (iv) Its calculation requires very reasonable computer costs, only a few times higher than that of a usual Voigt profile. Its inclusion in radiative transfer codes will thus induce bearable CPU time increases. (v) It can be extended in order to take line-mixing effects into account, at least within the so-called first-order approximation.