Line shapes of the Na/K resonance line profiles perturbed by H2 at extreme density

Abstract

Collision broadening by molecular hydrogen of sodium and potassium is one of the major broadening mechanisms in the atmospheres of brown dwarf stars and exoplanets at an effective temperature of about 1000K. The accurate computation of line profiles from collision broadening at high density requires use of a Fourier transform of the autocorrelation function inside the model atmosphere code. We strongly warn that use of Lorentzian profiles at a high perturber density neglects radiation during close collisions and may lead to erroneous conclusions.