On the theory of fluorescence decay experiments. I. Nonrandom distortions

A number of significant nonrandom instrumental errors in fluorescence time decay experiments may be automatically corrected by an analytical procedure that is called moment index displacement (MD). An MD of order n is defined as the process of calculating the decay constants from the set [Gn + 1, Gn + 2,..., Gn + 2ν] instead of [G1, G2,..., G2ν]. An MD of any order will automatically yield correct decay parameters for any size of light scattering error. Discrepancies between the zero point of the measured exciting light and the measured fluorescence are also corrected by MD, as are errors due to lamp drift.