English

Absolute measurements of state-to-state rotational energy transfer between CO and H2 at interstellar temperatures

Chemical Physics 2022-03-14 v1

Abstract

Experimental measurements and theoretical calculations of state-to-state rate coefficients for rotational energy transfer of CO in collision with H2_2 are reported at the very low temperatures prevailing in dense interstellar clouds (5 - 20 K). Detailed agreement between quantum state-selected experiments performed in cold supersonic flows using time-resolved infrared - vacuum-ultraviolet double resonance spectroscopy and close-coupling quantum scattering calculations confirms the validity of the calculations for collisions between the two most abundant molecules in the interstellar medium.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2202.00342,
  title  = {Absolute measurements of state-to-state rotational energy transfer between CO and H2 at interstellar temperatures},
  author = {H. Labiad and M. Fournier and L. A. Mertens and A. Faure and D. Carty and T. Stoecklin and P. Jankowski and K. Szalewicz and S. D. Le Picard and I. R. Sims},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2202.00342},
  year   = {2022}
}

Comments

6 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. A. Letter (21/12/2021)