A line shape for collision-broadened lines applicable from the resonance region to the far wings is developed. An empirical correlation function is used to represent the known short and long time behavior of the true correlation function and to interpolate the unknown intermediate time regime. The resulting spectral shape is a simple analytic function which reduces to essentially the Van Vleck-Weisskopf equation when |ω−ω₀|τ₂1, but which smoothly assumes an exponential behavior in the far wings where |ω−ω₀|τ₂1. The time parameter, τ₂, is a measure of the duration of collision and is related to the mean squared torque produced in bimolecular collisions. The effect of overlapping lines, also variations in the model correlation function on the line shape are considered. The theory is applied to the absorption in the high-frequency far wing of the 4.3υ band in CO₂.

Quantitative absorpance measurements have been made in pure CO₂ and mixtures of CO₂ with N₂ and O₂ in a 10 m White Perkin-Elmer cell. With absorbing paths up to 50 m-atm, results have been obtained from the band head at 2397 cm^-1 to 2575 cm^-1. The continuous absorption, which is due to the extreme tails of the strong lines in the v₃ band centered at 2349 cm^-1, is much less than calculated with the Lorentz line shape. A good fit with the data is obtained with an empirical line-shape which retains the Lorentz pressure dependence but requires a nearly exponential modification of the frequency dependence.