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At least 325 records · Page 18

Some three-body atomic systems

Three body atomic systems with He atom and H negative ion on basis of scattering experiments dealing with resonance and threshold behavior

Mcgowan, J. W.↗

Would shower cores or relativistic monopoles produce straight lightning.

The cause of leaders occasionally leaving old stroke channels is found to be atomic and molecular negative ions inside and outside old stroke channels, respectively. From this it is shown that the ionization in shower cores and possibly that in monopole paths would be capable of carrying a lightning leader which would then be straight and result in a straight return stroke. Artificial initiation of lightning shows that even thunderclouds without spontaneous lightning maintain large potential gradients over large areas for significant periods of time. Thundercloud conditions for straight lightning may be more favorable over ocean than land areas.

Tompkins, D. R., Jr.↗

The relationship of theory and experiment in the D-region.

To monitor the descriptive parameters of the lower ionosphere and construct a model which predicts their temporal and spatial variations is a particularly difficult task. In a given situation simultaneous measurements should be conducted of ionization sources, the altitude distribution of all neutral atmospheric constituents, the identification, number density, and altitude distribution of different species of positive and negative ions and electrons. These results are compared with theoretical predictions to serve as boundary conditions and guides to modification of the theory. It has not been possible to realize this goal in lower ionosphere research because of the large number of parameters and since certain parameters, such as positive ion species distribution and nitric oxide, can only be measured with the aid of sounding rockets. To illustrate the difficulty, recent positive ion composition measurements are compared with predictions utilizing clustering of ions and neutrals to form hydrated ions.

Aikin, A. C.↗

Free-free absorption of infrared radiation in collisions of electrons with neutral rare-gas atoms

A relationship between the inverse bremsstrahlung absorption cross section and the electron neutral momentum transfer cross section has been utilized to determine the infrared free-free continuum absorption coefficient for the negative ions of helium, neon, argon, krypton, and xenon. The values of the momentum transfer cross section for this calculation have been obtained from experimental measurements. Analytical expressions for the absorption coefficient have also been developed. From the results of this calculation, it is possible to determine the absorption coefficient per unit electron density per neutral atom for temperatures in the range from 2500 to 25,000 K. The results are compared with those from tabulations of previous calculations and those computed from theoretical values of the phase shifts for the elastic scattering of electrons by neutral atoms.

Stallcop, J. R.↗

Cold cathodes for sealed-off CO2 lasers

Cold cathodes for CO2 lasers should possess a very low sputtering rate, have a minimum of negative ions in the sputtering products, and consume no oxygen. These conditions can be satisfied by selecting cathode materials from those elements of group I in the periodic table which form semiconducting oxide layers and then exposing these elements to a reducing gas mixture. Experimental results show that silver, internally oxidized silver-copper alloys, and pure copper satisfy most of these requirements in He-CO2-CO-Xe gas mixtures. Infrared CO and CO2 gas analysis performed on simple gas discharge tubes using such cathodes indicate that laser lives of 10,000 hr can be expected.

Hochuli, U. E.↗

Reduction of electron density in a plasma by injection of liquids

In this paper, the authors have investigated the physics of various processes relevant to the reduction of electron density in a plasma by addition of water droplets; two processes have in particular been analyzed in some detail, viz, the electron attachment to charged dielectric droplets and the emission of negative ions by vaporization from these droplets. The results of these analyses have been applied to a study of the kinetics of reduction of electron density and charging of droplets in an initially overionized plasma, after addition of water droplets. A number of simplifying assumptions including uniform size and charge on droplets and negligible change in the radius of the droplet due to evaporation have been made.

Sodha, M. S.↗

Photoionization of atoms and molecules

A literature review on the present state of knowledge in photoionization is presented. Various experimental techniques that have been developed to study photoionization, such as fluorescence and photoelectron spectroscopy, mass spectroscopy, are examined. Various atoms and molecules were chosen to illustrate these techniques, specifically helium and xenon atoms and hydrogen molecules. Specialized photoionization such as in positive and negative ions, excited states, and free radicals is also treated. Absorption cross sections and ionization potentials are also discussed.

Samson, J. A. R.↗

Cosmic ray ionization of the Jovian atmosphere

An approximate form of the Boltzmann equation has been used to obtain local ionization rates due to the absorption of galactic cosmic rays in the Jovian atmosphere. It is shown that the muon flux component of the cosmic-ray-induced cascade may be especially important in ionizing the atmosphere at levels where the total number density exceeds 10 to the 19th per cu cm (well below the ionospheric layers produced by solar EUV). A model containing both positive and negative ion reactions has been employed to compute electron and ion number densities. Peak electron number densities of the order of 1000 per cu cm may be expected even at relatively low magnetic latitudes. The dominant positive ions are NH4(+) and CnHm(+) cluster ions, with n at least 2; it is suggested that the absorption of galactic cosmic-ray energy at such relatively high pressures in the Jovian atmosphere (M about 10 to the 18th to 10 to the 20th per cu cm) and the subsequent chemical reactions may be instrumental in the local formation of complex hydrocarbons.

Capone, L. A.↗

Magnetic field effects on ionization inhomogeneities advected by motions of the neutral gas

A theory is developed for the ambipolar diffusion, drift, distortion, and production of ionization inhomogeneities within weakly ionized plasma in the presence of the geomagnetic field and motions of the neutral gas. The theory developed includes spatially varying velocity fields of the neutral gas, with a special emphasis on investigating the length scale restrictions necessary for the plasma to be treated as spatially homogeneous. Several effects of the magnetic field on ionization inhomogeneities are discussed. These include the anisotropy of ambipolar diffusion, the distortion and drift due to a gravitational field, the production of irregularities due to the turbulent acceleration field, the drift relative to the neutral gas, and the distortion of ionization inhomogeneities due to the effects of a uniform wind. Pertinent equations are derived for a multispecies plasma containing positive or negative ions, and for the case of electrons and one species of positive ions.

Hill, R. J.↗

Electron impact spectroscopy

The concepts of electron impact spectroscopy are discussed, comparing the electron spectroscopy techniques with those of the optical spectroscopy. The main advantage of the electron spectroscopy is to be found in the elimination of optical selection rules in excitation processes and the ability to scan the spectrum from the infrared to the X-ray region. The range of the method is indicated through a review of several examples, including electron impact excitation of Ba and rotational excitation of H2. The sensitivity of the method is demonstrated by vibrational excitation spectrum of N2. It is shown that the application of the method to the inner-shell excitation allows to obtain information about molecular species which are not commonly available, while spectroscopy of negative ions yields information about their energy and symmetry properties. However, the techniques are still under development and more data are expected to become available in the coming years.

Trajmar, S.↗

Condensation nuclei events at 30 km and possible influences of solar cosmic rays

Two recent observations have provided the basis for study of a relationship between solar activity and the formation of small particles in the earth's atmosphere; the discovery of annual increases of condensation nuclei (CN) at 30 km and the detection of sulfuric acid molecules in large negative ion clusters in the 25-35-km altitude region. These observations have led to formulation and testing of a model wherein CN are formed in a 'polar cloud chamber' supersaturated with sulfuric acid vapor and triggered by ionization associated with solar flare cosmic radiation. It is concluded that such a model provides a potential explanation of the observations.

Hofmann, D. J.↗

A Sensitive Infrared Photodetector

Technique utilizing photodetachment of negative ions incorporated into sensitive photodetector which allows detection of low-energy infrared photons, without resorting to cryogenic cooling.

Srivastava, S. K.↗

Stratospheric condensation nuclei and possible solar influences

Balloon-borne measurements of condensation nuclei and H2SO4 molecules in large negative ion clusters have been made in the stratosphere at around 30 km altitude. The nuclei observed were in the 0.01-0.1 micron diameter range. Consideration was given to sunspot activity as a triggering event for ionization of upper atmospheric H2SO4 species and subsequent formation of the nuclei. A numerical model was defined for a steady state between the H2SO4 association and ion recombination in order to determine a critical nucleation rate. It is concluded that condensation nuclei are produced in ion nucleation in an H2SO4 supersaturated polar cloud chamber, with the process being initiated by solar flare particle ionization.

Hofmann, D. J.↗

Electron-impact vibrational excitation rates in the flow field of aeroassisted orbital transfer vehicles

This paper examines the vibrational excitation rate processes expected in the flow field of aeroassisted orbital transfer vehicles (AOTVs). An analysis of the multiple-quantum vibrational excitation processes by electron impact is made to predict the vibrational excitation cross sections, rate coefficients, and relaxation times which control vibrational temperature. The expression for the rate of electron-vibration energy transfer is derived by solving the system of master equations which account for the multiple-level transitions. The vibrational excitation coefficients, which are the prerequisite physical quantities in solving the obtained vibrational equation, are calculated based on the theoretically predicted cross sections. These cross sections are obtained from quantum mechanical calculations, based on the concept that vibrational excitation of molecules by electron impact occurs through formation of an intermediate negative ion state. Finally, the modified Landau-Teller-type rate equation, which is suitable for the numerical calculations for the AOTV flow fields, is suggested.

Lee, J.-H.↗

On Wahlin's mechanism of cloud electrification

Computations were performed to explore the consequences of Wahlin's suggestion that a powerful mechanism of thundercloud electrification is provided, in the presence of a substantial updraft, by the preferential capture of negative ions on the water droplets of a cloud. The mechanism seems capable of providing, on time scales of 10-15 min, electric fields of several tens of kV/m.

Dangelo, N.↗