Ruby R-line shift 2026-10-18
The ruby R-line shift compares the same emission feature under two conditions. It is distinct from the Stokes shift, which compares absorption and emission features. In ruby, chromium ions in the corundum crystal provide the electronic transitions; compression changes their local environment and transition energies.[ref]
For consistently defined vacuum wavelengths, the reciprocal relation gives
Thus a positive wavelength shift means a negative reciprocal shift, and gives lower photon energy; is the Planck constant and the speed of light. For spectroscopic wavenumber, use vacuum wavelength and keep that convention consistent. A calibration specified in air wavelength must retain its convention or be converted consistently. The reciprocal relation is nonlinear: a line exactly linear in is not exactly linear in .
For a purely mathematical check with chosen vacuum wavelengths and , the reciprocal shift is . The small-shift approximation gives , about too large in magnitude. These chosen values illustrate the conversion; they are not measured ruby lines or an additional pressure calibration.