Isotropic Raman line shapes of simple molecular fluids exhibit critical line broadening near their respective liquid-gas critical points. In order to observe this phenomenon, it is essential that the band position of a given vibrational mode is density-dependent, and that vibrational depopulation processes negligibly contribute to line broadening. Special attention was given to the fact that the isotropic (i.e., nonrotationally broadened) line shape of liquid N2 is affected by resonant intermolecular vibrational interactions between identical oscillators. By means of the well-chosen isotopic mixture (14N2).975 - (14N15N).025, the temperature and density dependences of shift, width, and asymmetry of the resonantly coupled 14N2 and, depending on the S/N ratio available, of the resonantly uncoupled 14N15N were determined, with up to milli-Kelvin resolution, in the coexisting liquid and gas phases and along the critical isochore, using a highest-resolution double monochromator and modern charge-coupled device detection techniques. Clear evidence was found that vibrational resonance couplings are present in all dense phases studied.
