Electron energy distribution functions in carbon monoxide discharge and post-discharge conditions: The role of superelastic electronic collisions from CO(A3Π) state

Abstract

The influence of superelastic electronic collisions from the metastable CO(A³Π) state on the electron energy distribution functions (EDF’s) of CO in both discharge and post‐discharge conditions has been studied by solving the Boltzmann equation with different concentrations (c_m) of CO(A³Π). The results show that the role of CO(A³Π) becomes more important as the reduced electric field (E/N) is lowered. Very small concentrations of CO(A³Π) (c_m ≂ 10⁻⁷) are sufficient to affect EDF in the post‐discharge regime (E/N=0). Superelastic electronic collisions are such that they create different plateaus in EDF, each one spaced approximately every 6.2 eV, which represents the energy threshold of the metastable electronic state.