Velocity profiles of high-excitation molecular hydrogen lines

Profiles of three lines of molecular hydrogen near 2.2 microns, originating from widely spaced energy levels, have been measured at a resolution of 32 km/s at Peak 1 in the Orion molecular outflow. The three lines, 1 - 0 S(1), 2 - 1 S(1), and 3 - 2 S(3), are found to have identical profiles. This result rules out any significant contribution to the population of the higher energy levels of molecular hydrogen at Peak 1 by fluorescence, and is generally consistent with emission from multiple J-type shocks.