Maluendes, Sergio | Search NASA

NASA NTRS1993

Improved collisional excitation rates for interstellar water

Theoretical rate constants among the lowest 45 para and 45 ortho rotational levels of water in collisions with He atoms have been calculated for temperatures between 20 and 2000 K using a recently improved theoretical interaction potential. These values are about 30-40 percent larger than those reported previously but relative sizes of different state-to-state rates have not changed significantly. Successive improvements to the theoretical description of this system now appear to have converged.

Green, Sheldon↗

NASA NTRS1992

Comment on broadening of water microwave lines by collisions with helium atoms

Earlier theoretical descriptions of interaction forces and collision dynamics in the H2O-He system (Palma et al., 1988; Green et al., 1991) are improved by calculating the interaction at additional orientations and by including diffuse functions in the molecular orbital expansion basis set. The improvements make substantial changes to the potential energy surface, but make only small changes in predicted microwave pressure broadening coefficients. The qualitative temperature dependence and relative widths of different lines appear to be converged with respect to successive improvements to the theoretical description of this system. Remaining discrepancies with available data must reflect problems with the experimental values.

Maluendes, Sergio↗