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Laboratory measurements of the O + (²D) + N 2 and O + (²D) + O 2 reaction rate coefficients and their ionospheric implications
Author(s) -
Johnsen Rainer,
Biondi Manfred A.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/gl007i005p00401
Subject(s) - metastability , ion , atomic physics , physics , analytical chemistry (journal) , ionosphere , atmosphere (unit) , chemistry , thermodynamics , chromatography , quantum mechanics , astronomy
Rate coefficients have been measured at thermal energies for the charge transfer reactions of metastable O + (²D) ions with N 2 and O 2 . At an effective temperature of ∼ 550 K we find k(N 2 ) = (8 ± 2) × 10 −10 cm³/sec and k(O 2 ) = (7±2) × 10 −10 cm³/sec. These drift tube‐mass spectrometer measurements employ the reaction He + + O 2 as the source of the metastable O + ions, and evidence is presented that the ions thus produced are in the ²D state rather than the ²P state, a possible alternative identification. The O + (²D) + N 2 charge transfer rate is considerably larger than that deduced in existing photochemical model analyses of Atmosphere Explorer observations. Some of the ionospheric implications of the laboratory measurements are discussed.