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Tsunami are a very dangerous natural hazard, as highlighted in recent years by the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 and the Japan Tsunami of 2011. In the last decade, tsunami have claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, and caused billions of dollars in damage around the world. The hazard posed to coastal communities by tsunami is expected to increase in the future, due to population growth, intensification of coastal development and sea level rise due to climate change. Tsunami may be generated by a number of different source mechanisms. One such source mechanism is a submarine landslide, which can occur in a number of marine environments containing significant sediment accumulation on a sloping seafloor. The high amplitudes and rapid celerities of landslide-generated tsunami make them very dangerous to communities in the vicinity of the landslide, although these waves do not possess the potential for transoceanic devastation. The objectives of this research project are to carry out a series of two-dimensional physical experiments investigating the waves generated by a rigid block landslide moving along a horizontal boundary. The use of a horizontal boundary has the advantage that waves propagating in the offshore and onshore directions may be measured (unlike previous studies using sloping boundaries). The landslide motion is provided by a mechanical system, allowing testing of a broad range of motion, and isolation of the wavemaking properties of different phases of landslide motion. Experiments are carried out in a 14.66 m long flume, with width 0.25 m and working depth 0.50 m. A false floor installed in the flume provides the sliding surface for the landslide motion, and houses the mechanical system. A series of preliminary particle tracking velocimetry experiments confirm the ability of the mechanical system to achieve its velocity targets to within 5% or better, depending on the parameters of the landslide motion. Full spatial and temporal resolution of the wave field is achieved using a laser-induced fluorescence technique to identify the air-water interface to sub-pixel accuracy. The measurements obtained using laser-induced fluorescence are validated against measurements from a resistance wave gauge, with sub-millimetre agreement. In an additional experiment, the particle tracking velocimetry technique provides measurements of the subsurface velocity field. The landslide motion during all experiments consists of an initial period of constant acceleration, followed by a period of constant velocity, followed by a deceleration to rest (at the same rate as the initial acceleration). The landslide acceleration generates two dispersive packets of waves, travelling in the offshore and onshore directions. The offshore-propagating wave packet contains a leading crest and the onshore-propagating wave packet contains a leading trough, with both waves approaching the shallow water limit. A free surface depression forms above the landslide during its constant-velocity motion, and its amplitude may be predicted to within approximately 20% using standard hydraulic theory (considering a frame of reference moving with the landslide). The offshore-propagating waves passing over the landslide cause the amplitude of this depression to fluctuate over time. The deceleration of the landslide generates two additional packets of waves with the opposite polarity to the waves generated by the landslide acceleration. The full spatial and temporal resolution of the generated wave field allows the calculation of the potential energy within the wave field. Additionally, the energy (and mass) within the onshore- and offshore-propagating wave packets may be estimated by calculating these quantities within the onshore and offshore regions of the experimental domain. The wave packets generated by the initial landslide acceleration transport positive mass in the offshore direction, and negative mass in the onshore direction. This mass transport is balanced by the waves generated during the deceleration of the landslide. The nondimensional landslide acceleration, landslide Froude number and submergence depth are varied during the physical experiments. The landslide Froude number has the greatest effect on the behaviour of the generated wave field. At low Froude numbers, the wave field is dominated by the waves generated by the acceleration and deceleration of the landslide. As the Froude number increases, the onshore-propagating waves become negligible in amplitude compared to the offshore-propagating waves. Additionally, the free surface depression increases in amplitude and a group of short-wavelength waves become trapped behind the landslide. These waves exhibit highly nonlinear behaviour at landslide Froude numbers greater than 0.5. The simple experimental geometry allows comparison between the measured wave fields with the predictions of three mathematical models. Two inviscid-irrotational models, differing in their treatment of the bottom boundary condition, provide comparisons over the entire parameter space. These models under-predict the amplitudes of the generated waves, and fail to correctly predict the ongoing interaction between the landslide and the offshore-propagating waves. The inclusion of bottom boundary nonlinearity improves the predictions of the amplitude of the leading waves, and the potential energy within the wave field. However, both of the inviscid models do not predict the extent of wave trapping behaviour behind the landslide observed in the experiments. A viscous model, formulated in the DNS solver Gerris, improves the predictions of wave trapping (and amplitude in general) in one experiment. Although the model still under-predicts the amplitudes of the generated waves, it correctly predicts the amplification of the waves behind the landslide during its constant-velocity motion. The failure of the inviscid models to predict the amplitudes of these waves can be mostly attributed to the linearised free surface condition used by both models. The presence of the turbulent wake may also have a secondary effect on these predictions. An extension of the linear inviscid-irrotational model to three dimensions allows the effect of the landslide width on the amplitudes of the generated waves to be determined. As the width increases, the behaviour of the waves approaches the two-dimensional limiting case.

The field of lipidomics encompasses the study of pathways, networks, and functionality of cellular lipids in biological systems. The lipid subclass, primary fatty acid amides, are crucial to nervous system signaling, receptor function, and numerous other physiological roles. Chapter 1 details these bioactive properties of several well-studied primary fatty acid amides as well as their biosynthesis, degradation, and most common analysis techniques. As these bioactive lipids are endogenously present in trace and ultra-trace abundancies, the field of microfluidics presents an attractive alternative analysis system to incorporate minimization of sample and reagent usage, analysis cost reduction, highly sensitive detection pairing, and decreased analysis time, all while limiting sample handling. Chapter 2 provides a microfluidics-based review of common device fabrication techniques, droplet microfluidics, and detection systems. Current primary fatty acid amide analysis techniques have detection limits on the periphery of endogenous concentrations, presenting the need for a more sensitive detection system, such as fluorescence. Chapter 3 serves as the foundation in developing methodology to analyze these amides and their conjugate fluorescently-tagged primary amines. Chapter 4 focuses on the development of a microfluidic platform capable of efficient on-chip fluorescent tagging reactions and the coupling of a highly sensitive laser induced fluorescence detection system capable of detection limits several orders of magnitude lower than currently employed mass spectrometry techniques. In addition, the appendix details the method development for the quantitative analysis of the anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer drug, celecoxib, uptake into novel drug delivery vehicles. / Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences; / Chemistry and Biochemistry / PhD / Dissertation;

Current simulations of atmospheric entry into both Mars and Earth atmospheres for the design of thermal protections systems (TPS) typically invoke conservative assumptions regarding surface-catalyzed recombination and the amount of energy deposited on the surface. The need to invoke such assumptions derives in part from lack of adequate experimental data on gas-surface interactions at trajectory relevant conditions. Addressing this issue, the University of Vermont's Plasma Test and Diagnostics Laboratory has done extensive work to measure atomic specie consumption by measuring the concentration gradient over various material surfaces. This thesis extends this work by attempting to directly diagnose molecular species production in air plasmas. A series of spectral models for the A-X and B-X systems of nitric oxide (NO), and the B-X system of boron monoxide (BO) have been developed. These models aim to predict line positions and strengths for the respective molecules in a way that is best suited for the diagnostic needs of the UVM facility. From the NO models, laser induced fluorescence strategies have been adapted with the intent of characterizing the relative quantity and thermodynamic state of NO produced bysurface-catalyzed recombination, while the BO model adds a diagnostic tool for the testing of diboride-based TPS materials. Boundary layer surveys of atomic nitrogen and NO have been carried out over water-cooled copper and nickel surfaces in air/argon plasmas. Translation temperatures and relative number densities throughout the boundary layer are reported. Additional tests were also conducted over a water-cooled copper surface to detect evidence of highly non-equilibrium effects in the form of excess population in elevated vibrational levels of the A-X system of NO. The tests showed that near the sample surface there is a much greater population in the v'' = 1ground state than is predicted by a Boltzmann distribution.

[pt] O presente trabalho apresenta uma análise experimental da combustão turbulenta de sprays de etanol, mediante o uso de técnicas de diagnóstico laser, em queimadores tipo obstáculo. São empregadas a fluorescência induzida por plano laser (PLIF) do radical hidroxila (OH), para mapear a frente de chama, a velocimetria por imagens de partículas (PIV), para determinar o campo de velocidades das gotas do spray e Shadowgraphy, para obter o diâmetro e velocidade de gota. Uma caracterização da estrutura do escoamento de ar a jusante do corpo rombudo é realizada com PIV estéreo para diferentes números de Reynolds. Os resultados mostram uma similitude do escoamento na zona de recirculação. As maiores flutuações turbulentas de velocidades são encontradas na região de vórtice e indicam anisotropia no tensor de Reynolds. Os resultados de Shadowgraphy revelam que as gotas do spray não são perfeitamente esféricas em regiões perto do atomizador. O diâmetro médio Sauter (SMD) foi medido em varias posições na região de recirculação. As gotas de maior diâmetro apresentaram as maiores velocidades e as pequenas são ligeiramente desviadas pela zona de recirculação nas regiões mais afastadas da linha central. Os experimentos reativos realizados com diversos valores de vazão de etanol e ar indicam que a frente de chama é descolada do queimador, sua forma é determinada principalmente pela vazão de etanol e a intensidade de luminescência é aumentada com a velocidade do ar. Em alguns casos o escoamento de ar muda a forma do spray. Uma quantidade de gotas apreciável sempre consegue atravessar a frente de chama. O campo de velocidade das gotas é influenciado pelo incremento da velocidade do escoamento anular de ar. / [en] This work presents an experimental analysis of turbulent combustion of ethanol sprays through the use of laser diagnostic techniques in a bluff-body burner. Are employed the planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) of the hydroxyl (OH), to map the flame front, the particle image velocimetry (PIV) to determine the velocity field of the spray droplets and Shadowgraphy to obtain the droplet diameter and velocity. A characterization of the structure of the air flow downstream of the bluff-body is performed with stereo PIV at different Reynolds numbers. The results evidence flow similarity in the recirculation zone. The largest turbulent velocity fluctuations are found in the vortex region, which implies the anisotropy of the Reynolds stresses. The results of Shadowgraphy indicate that the spray droplets are not perfectly spherical near the atomizer. The evolution of Sauter mean diameter (SMD) is measured at various positions at the recirculation region. The largest diameter droplets have the highest velocity and the smaller are slightly deviated by recirculation zone in the far furthest from the centerline. The reactive experiments are performed with different ethanol and air flow rates and indicate that the flame front is detached from the burner, the shape is determined by the ethanol flow rate and the luminescence intensity increases with the air velocity. In some case the air flow changes the shape of the spray. An appreciable number of droplets always passe through the flame front. The velocity of the droplets is influenced by the increase of speed air velocity.

[pt] Neste trabalho se apresenta um estudo experimental e numérico de escoamentos turbulentos quimicamente reativos em um queimador tipo obstáculo. O objetivo principal é estudar uma chama turbulenta não pré-misturada de configuração geométrica simples. Esta chama, que queima gás natural e ar, é estabilizada por um queimador tipo obstáculo. Inicialmente um estudo bibliográfico do estado da arte de experimentos e da comparação entre experimentos e modelagem neste tipo de queimador é apresentado. Na sequência, a formulação matemática, clássica, de dinâmica dos fluidos computacional é exposta, seguida da apresentação da técnica de medição empregada nos experimentos, a fluorescência induzida por plano laser (PLIF). A discussão dos resultados obtidos neste trabalho é divida em três etapas. Na primeira, comparam-se os resultados de modelagem computacional usando quatro modelos de turbulência e dois modelos de combustão com dados experimentais encontrados na literatura. Esta comparação coloca em evidência o conjunto de modelos que possui melhor capacidade preditiva no que diz respeito a este tipo de configuração. A segunda etapa consiste na apresentação dos resultados experimentais obtidos, os quais permitem caracterizar, em três regimes de combustão distintos, a presença de uma espécie química existente durante o processo de combustão, no caso, o radical hidroxila (OH). Esta caracterização é realizada pelo exame tanto da estrutura instantânea da chama turbulenta quanto da média. Por fim, comparam-se os resultados da modelagem com aqueles obtidos no presente aparato experimental. Esta comparação coloca em evidência as deficiências dos modelos clássicos de combustão empregados e indica a necessidade de serem realizadas medidas simultâneas de velocidade e de concentração de espécies químicas que possibilitem o desenvolvimento de novos modelos de combustão em escoamento turbulento. / [en] This work presents an experimental and numerical study of turbulent chemically reactive flows in a bluff body type burner. The main objective of the present work is to study a non-premixed turbulent flame on a simple geometric configuration. This flame, which burns natural gas and air, is stabilized downstream to a bluff-body. Initially, literature is reviewed on the previous experimental and modeling studies which have been performed on this kind of burner. Then, the mathematical formulation of computational fluid dynamic problem is presented. This is followed by the introduction of the experimental measurements techniques which involve planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF). The discussion of results obtained in this work is divided in three sections. First, a comparison is made between numerical simulations, using four different turbulent models and two different combustion models, and experimental data found in the literature. Is allows to assess capacity of the different models to predict the reactive flow configuration studied. The second section presents the experimental results obtained for three combustion regimes, which are characterized by laser induced fluorescence emission of the hydroxil radical species (OH). This characterization involves the analysis the instantaneous and the average structure of the turbulent flame. Finally, the modeling results are compared to the experimental data obtained. This comparison in evidences the necessity to perform the simultaneous measurement of velocity and chemical species concentration in order to allow for the development of new models of combustion in turbulent flows.

[pt] O escoamento em um queimador tipo corpo rombudo é estudado experimentalmente. Este queimador, representativo daqueles que podem ser encontrados em fornos industriais, propicia um amplo acesso óptico, fornecendo assim as condições necessárias para um estudo detalhado da combustão em escoamentos turbulentos. São realizadas medições simultâneas da luminosidade emitida pela fluorescência induzida do radical químico Hidroxila (OH) e do campo de velocidade do escoamento aplicando as técnicas de Fluorescência Induzida por Plano Laser (PLIF) e Velocimetria por Imagem de Partículas (PIV), respectivamente. A análise de incerteza das medições realizada mostrou que nos casos reativos as incertezas experimentais associadas às técnicas PIV e PLIF, são de 6 por cento e 25 por cento, respectivamente. O estudo de dois casos quimicamente inertes, um com o escoamento dominado pelo jato e outro pela esteira, serve de base para o cálculo das incertezas nas medições e na análise da estrutura do escoamento. Em seguida são estudados diversos regimes de combustão utilizando diferentes vazões de combustível gás natural e ar. As características da frente de chama e as estruturas do escoamento a jusante da superfície do queimador são analisadas através da distribuição da fluorescência de OH e dos campos de velocidade medidos. A imagem média permite verificar a posição do escoamento em que a chama se estabiliza, além de indicar a superfície de estequiometria e a altura média de ancoramento da chama. Os valores de RMS da fluorescência de OH indicam a flutuação da frente de chama, tanto na posição quanto na intensidade. Uma análise do tensor de Reynolds do escoamento é realizada à luz da hipótese de Boussinesq, ou seja, é investigada a pertinência do mecanismo de conexão entre a taxa de deformação média do escoamento e as tensões de Reynolds, a fim de examinar o desvio em relação à isotropia da turbulência. Os resultados dos casos reativos são semelhantes aos inertes. Assim sendo, a hipótese de Boussinesq parece ser aplicável nos casos em que o escoamento é dominado pelo jato, mas não quando ocorre interrupção deste na região de esteira. Os resultados apresentados contribuem para formação de um banco de dados que possibilitará a validação de novos modelos computacionais destinados a realização de simulações numéricas, visando a otimizar a combustão e propiciar a construção de queimadores mais eficientes que possibilitem a economia de combustível e a diminuição nas emissões de poluentes e material particulado. / [en] Turbulent non-premixed flames stabilized on a bluff-body burner are studied. This burner is representative of industrial furnace applications, provides ample optical access, allowing for the required conditions to perform a detailed combustion study in turbulent flowfield. Measurements of the fluorescence luminosity emitted by OH radical and the velocity field are achieved applying, Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) techniques, respectively. An uncertainty analysis is presented considering specifically the reactive case, which yields experimental uncertainties associated to the PIV and PLIF techniques of 6 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively. The study of two chemically inert cases, the first dominated by jet and the second dominated by wake, supports the uncertainty calculations and the flowfield structure analysis. Subsequently, several combustion regimes using Natural Gas and air are studied. The flame front characteristics and flowfield structures are analyzed using the OH fluorescence distribution and measured velocity field. The mean images allow the determination of the flame stabilization position in the flowfield, and also indicate the stoichiometry surface and the mean lift-off height. The RMS values of fluorescence signal quantify the flame front fluctuation, both in position and intensity. The measured components of the Reynolds stress tensor are analyzed with respect to the Boussinesq hypothesis, i.e., the relation between mean strain rate and Reynolds stress tensor, in order to examine the tensor deviation from the isotropy. The Boussinesq hypothesis seems to be valid in cases where the jet is dominant and not valid when jet bursts in the wake region. The presented results are the first step towards the construction of a database to validate computational models aimed at optimizing the combustion process and designing more efficient burners.

Métodos convencionais para o estudo da combustão são geralmente métodos intrusivos (por exemplo, uso de termopares para medida da temperatura da chama), que acarretam distúrbios na queima (efeitos térmicos, catalíticos ou aerodinâmicos). As técnicas de diagnóstico utilizando lasers, além de serem não intrusivas, possuem uma alta resolução temporal e espacial que permite mapear a zona de combustão e identificar em cada ponto da chama os diversos estados em que se formam os radicais transientes. Neste trabalho foi estabelecida a técnica de fluorescência induzida por laser, LIF - \"Laser Induced Fluorescence\" - do radical OH para a determinação da temperatura em chamas de etanol/Oxigênio/ar. Esta técnica é bastante utilizada em outros países, mas no Brasil é inédita. Para o início dos estudos, foi construído um queimador para queima de combustíveis líquidos, produzindo chamas pré-misturadas. Foram testados esquemas de emissão de LIF (309,5 nm-311,5 nm) e de excitação de LIF, esta em duas regiões de absorção do radical OH A2\'sigma\'\'seta\'X2 \'pi\' (0,0) (303 nm e 309 nm) e A2\'sigma\'seta\'X2\'pi\'(1,0) (278 nm - 280 nm). Os melhores resultados foram obtidos pelo método de excitação de LIF na região das transições S21(1) - S21(13) da banda A2\'sigma\'X2\'pi\' (1,0), utilizando o gráfico de Boltzmann. Foram feitas medições em chamas de etanol em várias posições ao longo do seu eixo longitudinal, acima do queimador, e para vazões com razões de equivalência =1,0 = 1,4 e = 0,82. Os resultados foram comparados com os obtidos pela técnica da linha reversa utilizando um sal de sódio e apresentaram dados concordantes dentro dos erros experimentais. As temperaturas obtidas ao longo de 55 mm da chama de etanol variaram de 2008 K +- 40 K a 2246 K +- 90 K para razão de equivalência = 0,82; de 2198 K +- 65 K a 2295 K +- 127 K para razão de equivalência = 1,0 e de 1905 K +- 64 K a 2238 K +- 155 K para razão de equivalência = 1,4. Chamas de GLP também foram estudadas em 3 posições ao longo de 15 mm da chama com razões de equivalência, 1,0; 1,5 e 0,87. As temperaturas variaram de 2423 K +- 102 K a 2622 K +- 106 K para razão de equivalência = 0,87; de 2441 K +- 110 K a 2631 K +- 100 K para razão de equivalência = 1,0 e de 2403 K +- 109 K a 2605 K +- 124 K para razão de equivalência = 1,5. O presente estudo mostrou que a técnica de LIF é adequada para o mapeamento da temperatura de chamas, tanto de combustíveis gasosos quanto líquidos. As temperaturas obtidas apresentaram um desvio experimental menor do que 8 %. / Conventional methods for the study of combustion are usually intrusive methods (for example, the use of thermocouples to measure flame temperatures), which might disturb the burning process (thermal, catalytic or aerodynamic effects). The diagnostics techniques using lasers, in addition to being non-intrusive, have high temporal and spatial resolution. They allow the “mapping" of in which the combustion zone and the identification, at each point of the flame, the various states in which the transient radicals are formed. In this work, the technique of Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) was used. This technique is based on the spectral emission from the OH radical species for the determination of the temperature in ethanol/oxigênio/air flames. This technique is largely employed in other countries, but in Brazil it has not been employed to study combustion processes. In the first step of our studies, a liquid fuel burner was constructed, producing premixed flames. Experimental setups for LIF emission (309,5 nm - 311,5 nm) and excitation, in two regions of the OH radical absorption spectrum A-X (0,0) (303 nm and 309 nm) and A-X (1,0) (278 nm - 280 nm) were tested. The best results were obtained by excitation in the region of the transitions S21(1) - S21(13) of the A-X (1,0) band, using the plot of Boltzmann. Measurements in ethanol flames at different positions along the burner vertical axis were obtained, and for flowsrates with equivalence ratios 1.0; 1.4 and 0.82. The results were compared with those obtained with the sodium line-reversal technique and agree within the experimental error values. The temperature values measured throughout a 55 mm distance above the burner in the ethanol flame varied from 2008 K ± 40 K to 2246 K ± 90 K for equivalence ratio 0.82; from 2198 K ± 65 K to 2295 K ± 127 K for equivalence ratio 1.0 and from 1905 64 K ± to 2238 K ± 155 K for equivalence ratio 1.4. Mixture of propane/butane flames were also studied in three positions throughout a 15 mm distance above the burner for equivalence ratios,equivalence ratio 1.0 equivalence ratio = 1.5 and equivalence ratio 0.87. The temperatures measured varied from 2423 K ± 102 K to 2622 K ± 106 K for equivalence ratio 0.87; from 2441 K ± 110 K to 2631 K ± 100 K for equivalence ratio 1.0 and from 2403 K ±109 K to 2605 K ±124 K for equivalence ratio 1.5. The present study shows that the LIF technique is suitable for “mapping" flame temperatures of gaseous as well as liquid. The temperatures measured showed experimental deviations lower than 8 %.

The development of Laser-Induced Thermal Grating Spectroscopy (LITGS) for diagnostics of combusting and non-combusting flows is described. The first use of LITGS to provide in situ calibration of 2-Dimensional temperature distributions generated using Two-Colour Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence (TC-PLIF) is reported. Time-resolved measurements of temperature distributions in a firing GDI optical engine obtained by TC-PLIF were made during the compression stroke and calibrated to the absolute temperature scale by simultaneous LITGS measurements. The accuracy and precision of the temperatures derived from LITGS data are evaluated using alternative methods of data analysis - Fast Fourier Transform and Fitting to theoretical models of the experimental data. The relative merits of the two methods are examined for analysis of weak LITGS signals obtained under engine conditions of low pressure and high temperature. The combined TC-PLIF and LITGS system was demonstrated by performing repeated single-shot measurements for 1 in every 10 four-stroke cycles showing excellent correlation of the temperatures derived from both techniques. Direct measurement of the effect of 'charge cooling', of order 5 K, for operation with direct injection is reported. Inhomogeneous temperature distributions were observed during the compression stroke for fired operation with Port Fuel Injection (PFI) and also with Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI). The effects of varying the relative concentrations of toluene and iso-octane in the two-component fuel were investigated. Extension of the LITGS technique to multi-point measurements along a 1-D line is described. By recording signals from 4 points on separate detectors using a fibre-coupled photodiode array the limitations of Streak Cameras used previously for 1-D LITGS measurements were overcome. Demonstration of principle experiments are reported in which simultaneous 4-point measurements were made with 1 mm spatial resolution and a precision of 0.7 % in temperature gradients in gas flows and in boundary layers at surfaces.

abstract: Transient molecules are of great importance having proposed applications in quantum science and technology and tests of fundamental physics. In the present dissertation, the transient molecules studied are SrOH, ThF, ThCl, YbF and YbOH; each having been selected because of their proposed application. Specifically, SrOH is a candidate of constructing a molecular magneto-optical trap (MOT). The simple actinide molecules, ThF and ThCl, were selected as ligand bonding model systems to gain insight into chemical processing of Spent Nuclear Fuel. The lanthanides YbF and YbOH are venues for the determination of electron electric dipole moment (eEDM) and the studies in this dissertation provide the requisite properties for those experiments. Intense supersonic molecular beams of these transient molecules were generated via laser ablation and spectroscopically characterized using a novel medium-resolution two-dimensional (2D) spectroscopic approach, as well as high-resolution laser induced fluorescence (LIF). The 2D medium resolution approach, which was used in the studies SrOH, ThF, ThCl and YbOH, uses a multiplexing method that simultaneously records dispersed fluorescence and excitation spectra. A significant advantage of 2D-LIF imaging is that all the electronics states can be targeted to determine the electronics states and associated vibrational spacing individually. Consequently, in the 2D spectra of ThF, ThCl and YbOH, several previously unobserved band systems have been detected in one single scan. For the DF spectra of SrOH and YbOH, the determined branching ratios show that the transitions of these molecules are diagonal (i.e. Δv=0), which is essential for the proposed potential for laser cooling. In the high-resolution of YbF, ThF, ThCl and SrOH optical spectra were recorded to an accuracy of ±30 MHz, which represents an unprecedented precision of 1:10+8. In addition to field free spectra, optical Stark and Zeeman studies were performed to determine the most fundamental magneto-and electro-static properties. Effective Hamiltonian operators were employed to analyze the recorded spectra and determine the spectroscopic parameters. This data set also establishes a contribution toward developing new computational methodologies for treating relativistic effects and electron correlation. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Chemistry 2019