Acetylene weak bands at 2.5 μm from intracavity Cr2+:ZnSe laser absorption observed with time-resolved Fourier transform spectroscopy

The spectral dynamics of a mid-infrared multimode Cr^2+:ZnSe laser located in a vacuum sealed chamber containing acetylene at low pressure is analyzed by a stepping-mode high-resolution time-resolved Fourier transform interferometer. Doppler-limited absorption spectra of C_2H_2 in natural isotopic abundance are recorded around 4000 cm^-1 with kilometric absorption path lengths and sensitivities better than 3 10^-8 cm-1. Two cold bands are newly identified and assigned to the n_1+n_4^1 and n_3+n_5^1 transitions of ^12C^13CH_2. The n_1+n_5^1 band of ^12C_2HD and fourteen ^12C_2H_2 bands are observed, among which for the first time n_2+2n_4^2+n_5^-1.