Theoretical vibrational-excitation cross sections and rate coefficients for electron-impact resonant collisions involving rovibrationally excited N2 and NO molecules

TL;DR

This paper calculates detailed vibrational excitation cross sections and rate coefficients for electron collisions with rovibrationally excited N2 and NO molecules, covering a wide energy range and including rotational effects, using a complex potential model.

Contribution

It provides comprehensive cross sections and rate coefficients for electron-impact rovibrational excitations of N2 and NO, including rotational states, which were not previously available in such detail.

Findings

Cross sections calculated for 68 N2 and 55 NO vibrational levels.

Data covers electron energies from 0.1 to 10 eV and temperatures up to 100 eV.

Numerical data accessible online for further research.

Abstract

Electron-impact vi->vf vibrational excitations cross sections, involving rovibrationally excited N_{2}(v_{i}, J) and NO(v_{i}, J) molecules (fixed J), are calculated for collisions occurring through the nitrogen resonant electronic state N_{2}^{-} (X ^{2}\Pi_{g}), and the three resonant states of nitric oxide NO^{-}(^{3}\Sigma^{-},^{1} \Delta,^{1} \Sigma^{+}). Complete sets of cross sections have been obtained for all possible transitions involving 68 vibrational levels of N2(X ^{1}\Sigma^{+}_{g}) and 55 levels of NO(X ^{2}\Pi), for the incident electron energy between 0.1 and 10 eV. In order to study the rotational motion in the resonant processes, cross sections have been also computed for rotationally elastic transitions characterized by the rotational quantum number J running from 0 through 150. The calculations are performed within the framework of the local complex potential model, by using potentials energies and widths optimized in order to reproduce the experimental cross sections available in literature. Rate coefficients are calculated for all the (v_{i}, J) \rightarrow (v_{f}, J) transitions by assuming a Maxwellian electron energy distribution function in the temperature range from 0.1 eV to 100 eV. All the produced numerical data can be accessed at http://users.ba.cnr.it/imip/cscpal38/phys4entry/database.html.