Collisional-dissociative recombination of electrons with molecular ions
Recombination rate calculation of electrons in plasma having ions of molecules with both repulsive and bound neutral states
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Recombination rate calculation of electrons in plasma having ions of molecules with both repulsive and bound neutral states
The basis and techniques are presented for generating opacity probability distribution functions for the CN molecule (red and violet systems) and the C2 molecule (Swan, Phillips, Ballik-Ramsay systems), two of the more important diatomic molecules in the spectra of carbon stars, with a view to including these distribution functions in equilibrium model atmosphere calculations. Comparisons to the CO molecule are also shown. T he computation of the monochromatic absorption coefficient uses the most recent molecular data with revision of the oscillator strengths for some of the band systems. The total molecular stellar mass absorption coefficient is established through fifteen equations of molecular dissociation equilibrium to relate the distribution functions to each other on a per gram of stellar material basis.
The theory of dense hydrogenic plasmas beginning with the two component quantum grand partition function is reviewed. It is shown that ionization equilibrium and molecular dissociation equilibrium can be treated in the same manner with proper consideration of all two-body states. A quantum perturbation expansion is used to give an accurate calculation of the equation of state of the gas for any degree of dissociation and ionization. In this theory, the effective interaction between any two charges is the dynamic screened potential obtained from the plasma dielectric function. We make the static approximation; and we carry out detailed numerical calculations with the bound and scattering states of the Debye potential, using the Beth-Uhlenbeck form of the quantum second virial coefficient. We compare our results with calculations from the Saha equation.
The theory of dense hydrogen plasmas beginning with the two component quantum grand partition function is reviewed. It is shown that ionization equilibrium and molecular dissociation equilibrium can be treated in the same manner with proper consideration of all two-body states. A quantum perturbation expansion is used to give an accurate calculation of the equation of state of the gas for any degree of dissociation and ionization. The statistical mechanical calculation of the plasma equation of state is intended for stellar interiors. The general approach is extended to the calculation of the equation of state of the outer layers of large planets.
The earth's atmosphere is made up of a number of gases in different relative amounts. Near sea level and up to about 90 km, the amount of these atmospheric gases in clean, relatively dry air is practically constant. Four of these gases, nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and carbon dioxide, make up 99.99 percent by volume of the atmosphere. Two gases, ozone and water vapor, change in relative amounts, but the total amount of these two is very small compared to the amount of the other gases. The atmospheric composition shown in a table can be considered valid up to 90 km geometric altitude. Above 90 km, mainly because of molecular dissociation and diffusive separation, the composition changes.
Program computes specific power output, specific fuel consumption, and cycle efficiency for power systems having any number os shafts up to maximum of five. Maximum temperatures should be no higher than about 2000 K (3140 F) because molecular dissociation is not included in stoichiometry.
Decrease in stratospheric ozone absorption and increase in oxygen absorption with decreasing wavelength combine to produce a window of maximum atmospheric transmission near 210 nm. Since solar radiation in this spectral region dissociates molecular oxygen, the deep atmospheric penetration at this wavelength is of particular aeronomical interest. High resolution calculations of the transmittance down to 28.65 km were made for the 200-243-nm spectral range in this window region, in support of a stratospheric balloon flight from Fort Churchill in July 1974. The calculations were made by dividing the atmosphere into layers which were chosen so that each could be assumed homogeneous; optical depths were calculated separately for each of these layers and then summed to obtain the over-all transmittance of the atmosphere. Absorption by molecular oxygen (line and continuum) and by ozone was included, as well as extinction through Rayleigh scattering by air molecules. The calculated transmittances were combined with high altitude (above 100-km) rocket measurements of the sun-center spectrum and center-to-limb variations to give residual high resolution solar spectral flux for several altitudes and solar zenith angles.
An attempt is made to measure the sum of the elastic, rotational and vibrational scattering of electrons by KOH at low impact energies (5 to 20 eV) at angles from 10 to 120 deg. Energy loss spectra taken in the 0 to 18 eV range using an electron impact spectrometer are used to identify the species contributing to electric scattering. At temperatures between 300 and 500 C, only inelastic spectral features belonging to water are detected, while at temperatures from 500 to 800 C strong atomic K lines, indicative of molecular dissociation, and H2 energy loss features become prominent. No features attributable to KOH, the KOH dimer, O2 or potassium oxides were observed, due to the effects of the dissociation products, and it is concluded that another technique will have to be developed in order to measure electron scattering by KOH.
A method for constructing physically realistic photochemical models, taking into account the isotropic ejection of dissociated molecular fragments as well as radiation pressure acceleration, has been developed using Monte Carlo techniques. The effect of the isotropic ejection, as opposed to the radial motion arbitrarily assumed in Haser's model, is adequately described by a simple average random walk model. It is shown that measured radial (Haser) scale lengths are in fact only lower limits to a range of possible true scale lengths for a given brightness profile, which explains the current discrepancies between observed scale lengths and those predicted by photochemistry.
The first effects of a nearby (10 parsec) supernova on the earth's atmosphere will be caused by ultraviolet radiation dissociating molecular oxygen. The event will be of about one month's duration. Several months later nuclear gamma radiation may arrive, causing a decrease in atmospheric ozone. Cosmic radiation from the supernova remnant will not intercept the earth for at least 1000 years at which time ozone will be seriously depleted. Supernova ultraviolet radiation increases column ozone and atomic oxygen. Atmospheric thermal structure is modified with a large temperature increase in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere and a decrease at higher altitudes caused by enhanced heat loss due to atomic oxygen radiation and conduction.
A laser amplification system is disclosed whereby a metallic halide vapor such as copper chloride is caused to flow through a laser amplifier and a heat exchanger in a closed loop system so that the flow rate is altered to control the temperature rise across the length of the laser amplifier. The copper atoms within the laser amplifier should not exceed a temperature of 3000 K, so that the number of copper atoms in the metastable state will not be high enough to prevent amplification in the amplifier. A molecular dissociation apparatus is provided at the input to the laser amplifier for dissociating the copper chloride into copper atoms and ions and chlorine atoms and ions. The dissociation apparatus includes a hollow cathode tube and an annular ring spaced apart from the tube end. A voltage differential is applied between the annular ring and the hollow cathode tube so that as the copper chloride flows through, it is dissociated into copper and chlorine ions and atoms.
CO maps and preliminary H2S and H2CO data for the molecular cloud associated with NGC 7538 are used to compare the molecular distributions with those of ionized, neutral, and molecular hydrogen and dust. South of the H II regions is a ridge of high (C-13)O column density with cold, self-absorbed H I just beyond it. A dense clump within the ridge is found adjacent to the H II region in the southeast, and a lower density region of expanding gas is seen next to the H II region in the southwest. NGC 7538 is the first region which appears to show observational evidence for a molecular dissociation wave.
Far ultraviolet observations of the auroral and airglow provide quantitative diagnostics of atmospheric abundances, energy deposition, and excitation processes because many atmospheric species have resonance transitions in this spectral region. The spectroscopy of an active auroral arc observed above Fort Churchill on March 29, 1978, has been discussed by Feldman and Gentieu (1982). The present investigation attempts to quantify the measurements with the aid of a self-consistent approach used by Meier et al. (1980). It is shown that the primary electron spectrum has a characteristic energy of 1.75-2.5 keV, corresponding to energy deposition rates of 5-8 erg/(sq cm-sec). Atomic nitrogen emissions resulting from molecular dissociative excitation show no evidence of multiple scattering, in contrast to data from other auroras.
CO maps and preliminary H2S and H2CO data for the molecular cloud associated with the HII region NGC 7538 are compared with the distributions of ionized and neutral hydrogen. South of the optical HII region is a ridge of high (C-13)O column density with cold, self-absorbed HI gas just beyond it. A dense clump within thy ridge is found adjacent to the HII region in the southeast. The percentage of the hydrogen in atomic form varies from approximately 0.1% in the dense region to approximately 0.8% in the outskirts. The lower-density region of expanding gas seen next to the HII region in the southwest is attributed to the passage of a molecular dissociation wave.
The behavior of oxygen and oxide ion in silicate melts was investigated through their electrochemical reactions at a platinum electrode. Values are given for the diffusion coefficient for molecular oxygen in diopside melt and the activation energy of diffusion. It is shown that molecular oxygen dissociates prior to undergoing reduction and that oxide ion reacts quickly with silicate polymers when it is produced. The concentration of oxide ion is kept low by a buffering effect of the silicate, the exact level being dependent on the silicate composition. Data on the kinetics of reaction of the dissociation of molecular oxygen and on the buffering reactions are provided. It is demonstrated that the data on oxygen in these silicate melts are consistent with those for solid buffers.
A new model equation of state is applied, based on realistic interparticle potentials and a self-consistent treatment of the internal levels, to fluid hydrogen at high density. This model shows a strong connection between molecular dissociation and pressure ionization. The possibility of a first-order plasma phase transition is considered, and for which both the evolution in temperature and the critical point is given.
Numerical solutions for the Aeroassist Flight Experiment vehicle were obtained from three methods at a trajectory point corresponding to the maximum aerodynamic heating. The flow regime and vehicle's speed require a viscous model of laminar flow and finite-rate chemical and thermal modeling. The computational domain covers both forebody and base such that the shock layer and near wake flowfield are included. Because of differences in computational grids, methods of solution, and models of rate equations, the results are generally in poor agreement. Temperature and species concentrations are strongly affected by the physical model equations and associated parameters. The chemistry model based on 11 species is found to yield lower translational temperature profile near stagnation than those from a seven-species model. The vibrational temperature varies according to the modeling details. All solutions indicate that strong neutral and/or molecular dissociation and weak ionization take place at the forebody and vibrational freezing is present in the afterbody expansion region where the vibrational temperature is higher than the translational temperature. Some forms of shear layer emanating from the aerobrake skirt coalesce in the region of reversed flow behind the vehicle.
Refractive-index measurements on solid hydrogen at visible frequencies at pressures up to 170 GPa are reported. No evidence is found for a divergence at 150 GPa, close to the low-temperature phase transition observed previously and suggested as being associated with metallization. The results are consistent with closure of the indirect gap. A fit of the data to a dielectric model indicates that the onset of visible absorption due to direct interband transition should occur above 200 GPa, consistent with previous direct observations. Pressure-induced molecular dissociation may occur before closure of the direct gap.