2008/05/12 by T-G Lee, T. -G. Lee, N. Balakrishnan +8
Chemistry · Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Atmospheric Ozone and Climate #Atomic physics #Chemistry #Collision #Fluorescence #Materials science #Molecule #Optics #Physics #Potential energy surface #Quenching (fluorescence) #Range (aeronautics) #Rotational energy #Rotational temperature #Spectroscopy and Laser Applications #Thermodynamics #Work (physics) #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/592560
arxiv created 2008/05/12 · openalex publication_date 2008/11/26 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
Rate coefficients for rotational transitions in H 2 induced by H 2 impact are presented. Extensive quantum mechanical coupled-channel calculations based on a recently published (H 2 ) 2 potential energy surface were performed. The potential energy surface used here has been demonstrated to be more reliable than surfaces used in previous work. Rotational transition cross sections with initial levels of J ⩽ 8 were computed for collision energies ranging between 10 −4 and 2.5 eV, and the corresponding rate coefficients were calculated for the temperature range 2 ⩽ T⩽ 10,000 K. In general, agreement with earlier calculations, which were limited to 100-6000 K, is good, although discrepancies are found at the lowest and highest temperatures. Low-density-limit cooling functions due to para- and ortho-H 2 collisions are obtained from the collisional rate coefficients. Implications of the new results for nonthermal H 2 rotational distributions in molecular regions are also investigated.