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Sen, A. D.

Publications and source records attributed to Sen, A. D..

Deuterium Exchange in the Systems of H2O+/H2O and H3O+/H2O

Using tandem mass spectrometry various water ion interactions were observed. These reactions consisted of a series of charge transfer, proton transfer, and isotopic exchange steps. The experimental data sets consist of variations of ion abundances over a neutral pressure range. An expected sequence of isotopic exchange reactions is given along with differential equation solutions & reaction rate data.

Spectroscopy Deuterium Proton Ion Atmospheric Scie

(abstract) Distribution of Unimolecular Lifetimes in Ion-Molecule Association Reactions

The distribution of unimolecular lifetimes of ion-molecule complexes formed in association reactions has been measured by ion cyclotron double-resonance. The mean unimolecular lifetimes of (H(sub 2)C(sub 6)N(sub 2)(sup +))(sup *) and (CH(sub 3)CN.CH(sub 3)(sup +))(sup *) were determined to be 180 (micro)s and 140 (micro)s respectively. A theoretical examination of the distribution of lifetimes of (CH(sub 3)CN.CH(sub 3)(sup +))(sup *) was conducted using a RRKM model. The RRKM distribution, when modified by experimental constraints, was found to be a good approximation of the experimentally determined lifetime distribution. The lifetimes for unimolecular dissociation and radiative relaxation, and the absolute efficiency of collisional relaxation are also reported.

unimolecular lifetimes ion-molecule complexes RRKM

Formaldehyde reactions in dark clouds

The low-pressure reactions of formaldehyde (H2CO) with D(+), D2(+), D3(+), and He(+) are studied by the ion-cyclotron resonance technique. These reactions are potential loss processes for formaldehyde in cores of dark interstellar clouds. The deuterated reactants represent direct analogs for protons. Rate coefficients and branching ratios of product channels have been measured. Charge transfer is observed to be the dominant reaction of H2CO with D(+), D2(+), and He(+) ions. Only the D3(+) reaction exhibits a proton-transfer channel. All reactions proceed at rate coefficients near the collision limit. Proton-deuteron exchange reactions are found to be inefficient processes in the formaldehyde system.

Sen, A. D.

Dielectric constant of liquid alkanes and hydrocarbon mixtures

The complex dielectric constants of n-alkanes with two to seven carbon atoms have been measured. The measurements were conducted using a slotted-line technique at 1.2 GHz and at atmospheric pressure. The temperature was varied from the melting point to the boiling point of the respective alkanes. The real part of the dielectric constant was found to decrease with increasing temperature and correlate with the change in the molar volume. An upper limit to all the loss tangents was established at 0.001. The complex dielectric constants of a few mixtures of liquid alkanes were also measured at room temperature. For a pentane-octane mixture the real part of the dielectric constant could be explained by the Clausius-Mosotti theory. For the mixtures of n-hexane-ethylacetate and n-hexane-acetone the real part of the dielectric constants could be explained by the Onsager theory extended to mixtures. The dielectric constant of the n-hexane-acetone mixture displayed deviations from the Onsager theory at the highest fractions of acetone. The dipole moments of ethylacetate and acetone were determined for dilute mixtures using the Onsager theory and were found to be in agreement with their accepted gas-phase values. The loss tangents of the mixtures exhibited a linear relationship with the volume fraction for low concentrations of the polar liquids.

NASA Program Exobiology

Sulfur and nitrogen reactions for cometary comae ion chemistry

The low pressure reactions of sulfur dioxide, carbon disulfide, and hydrazine with H2O+ and H3O+ were studied by the ion cyclotron resonance technique. These reactions are potentially important for sulphur chemistry in cometary comae. Rate coefficients and branching ratios of product channels are presented.

NASA Center JPL