@article{0004-637X-676-2-1367,
  author={S. Brünken and H. S. P. Müller and K. M. Menten and M. C. McCarthy and P. Thaddeus},
  title={The Rotational Spectrum of TiO2},
  journal={The Astrophysical Journal},
  volume={676},
  number={2},
  pages={1367},
  url={http://stacks.iop.org/0004-637X/676/i=2/a=1367},
  year={2008},
  abstract={The rotational spectrum of titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) has been detected by laser-ablation molecular beam Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy. Thirteen b -type rotational transitions up to J = 9 and K a = 4 were measured for the most abundant isotopic species 48 TiO 2 in the frequency range 7-42 GHz with accuracies of 1-10 kHz, allowing for the precise determination of rotational and centrifugal distortion parameters. In addition, eight and six rotational transitions of the rare isotopic species 46 TiO 2 and 50 TiO 2 , respectively, have been recorded in the same frequency range. From the derived spectroscopic parameters, rest frequencies of TiO 2 can now be calculated to better than 1 km s −1 in equivalent radial velocity up to fairly high J and K a at millimeter wavelengths, enabling radioastronomical searches for this stable, highly polar transition metal dioxide in space. Preliminary results of two searches for TiO 2 in space are presented.}
}