Operator representation as a new differential optical absorption spectroscopy formalism

UV-visible absorption spectroscopy with extraterrestrial light sources is a widely used technique for the measurement of stratospheric and tropospheric trace gases. We focus on differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) and present an operator notation as a new formalism to describe the different processes in the atmosphere and the simplifying assumptions that compose the advantage of DOAS. This formalism provides tools to classify and reduce possible error sources of DOAS applications.