Mechanism for production of nonequilibrium rotational level populations of molecules in plasmas. II. Comparison with experiment

Journal Article · Wed Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1980 · Sov. Phys. - Tech. Phys. (Engl. Transl.); (United States)

OSTI ID:6358495

Lavrov, B P; Ostrovskii, V N; Ustimov, V I

A general model for the production of nonequilibrium distributions of molecules over the rotational levels in the electronic-vibrational ground state is applied to the hydrogen molecule. With the aid of the available experimental data on the collision cross sections, it is shown that the population distribution may deviate strongly from the Boltzmann law even for relatively low rotational levels. The proposed model makes it possible to explain all the published data on the rotational distributions in excited d/sup 3/Pi/sup -//sub u/, ..nu.. states of the hydrogen molecule in low pressure plasmas from a unified standpoint. By evaluating a single theoretical parameter (the nonadiabaticity constant for intermolecular collisions) from the experimental data, it is possible to obtain good quantitative agreement between the calculated distributions and those measured in arc and glow discharge plasmas over a wide range of conditions. This new interpretation of the nature of the previously observed nonequilibrium rotational distributions makes them a source of information on the plasma parameters and on the rates of elementary processes in the plasmas.

• Research Organization: A. A. Zhdanov State University, Leningrad
• OSTI ID: 6358495
• Journal Information: Sov. Phys. - Tech. Phys. (Engl. Transl.); (United States), Journal Name: Sov. Phys. - Tech. Phys. (Engl. Transl.); (United States) Vol. 25:10; ISSN SPTPA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700105* -- Fusion Energy-- Plasma Research-- Plasma Kinetics-Theoretical-- (-1987)
COLLISIONS
DATA
DISTRIBUTION
ELEMENTS
ENERGY LEVELS
ENERGY-LEVEL TRANSITIONS
EXCITATION
EXCITED STATES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
GROUND STATES
HYDROGEN
INFORMATION
MOLECULE COLLISIONS
MOLECULES
NONMETALS
NUMERICAL DATA
PLASMA
PLASMA SIMULATION
ROTATIONAL STATES
SIMULATION