Measurement of the vibrational temperature of oxygen behind a shock wave front under thermal and chemical nonequilibrium conditions

In shock tube experiments the profiles of light absorption in oxygen are obtained for the wavelength interval 200–260 nm over the temperature range 4000–10800 K. Using these data, the vibrational temperature profiles are measured for oxygen molecules behind the shock front. The method of determination of the vibrational temperature of oxygen is based on comparing absorption measurements and detailed absorption spectrum calculations for oxygen in the Schumann-Runge system.