Simple Model for the High Energy Reaction of O+ Ions with N2

Abstract

A rough semiempirical model is presented for the reaction O++N2→NO++N as it has been found experimentally to occur for either vibrationally excited nitrogen or high energy (≳1 eV) O+ ions. The model is based on an assumed crossing of potential‐energy surfaces. It finds the rapid energy dependence of the reaction rate on both vibrational state and on kinetic energy in the Franck–Condon overlap integral. This integral is constructed by parameterizing initial and final potential‐energy surfaces in their dependence on the N–N coordinate only, in such a way as to reproduce the experimental dependence on both vibrational and translational energy. The resulting σ υ (E) then allow extrapolation of the experimental results to any combination of vibrational and translational temperatures.