Reassessment of ammonia self- and air-broadened half-widths in the HITRAN database

Abstract

Accurate NH3 pressure-broadening parameters are essential for reliable line-by-line simulations in atmospheric sensing, combustion diagnostics, and planetary/exoplanet studies. Current HITRAN NH3 self- and air-broadened half-widths rely largely on the Nemtchinov rotational correlation and database rules that clamp or assign default values beyond the validated range, limiting the representation of measured rotational trends, especially at high J''. Here, published NH3 self- and air-broadened Lorentz half-widths were compiled and reassessed to develop updated HITRAN-ready empirical correlations. The dataset includes 1317 self-broadened and 1231 air-broadened widths at, or reduced to, 296 K across multiple bands, branches, and rotational states. The analysis shows that linewidths are governed mainly by rotational dependence rather than branch, band, or vibration-inversion effects. Weighted, positivity-constrained third-degree polynomial fits were developed for gamma_self and gamma_air as functions of the branch-dependent index m and K''. The new correlations reduce the MAPE from 10.95% to 6.80% for air broadening and from 23.61% to 10.89% for self broadening relative to HITRAN2024. Comparisons with PNNL and pure-NH3 spectra further confirm improved absorption simulations, providing a physically constrained replacement for the current HITRAN NH3 broadening treatment.