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Results for “Atomic & molecular collisions”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Simulations of classical three-body thermalization in one dimension

One-dimensional systems, such as nanowires or electrons moving along strong magnetic field lines, have peculiar thermalization physics. The binary collision of pointlike particles, typically the dominant process for reaching thermal equilibrium in higher-dimensional systems, cannot thermalize a 1D system. We study how dilute classical 1D gases thermalize through three-body collisions. We consider a system of identical classical point particles with pairwise repulsive inverse power-law potential V ij ∝ 1/|x i –x j | n or the pairwise Lennard-Jones potential. Using Monte Carlo methods, we compute a collision kernel and use it in the Boltzmann equation to evolve a perturbed thermal state with temperature T toward equilibrium. We explain the shape of the kernel and its dependence on the system parameters. Additionally, we implement molecular dynamics simulations of a many-body gas and show agreement with the Boltzmann evolution in the low-density limit. For the inverse power-law potential, the rate of thermalization is proportional to ρ 2 ⁢T$\frac{1}{2}$ – $\frac{1}{n}$, where ρ is the number density. Furthermore, the corresponding proportionality constant decreases with increasing n.

1-dimensional systems↗
NASA NTRS1989

Pressure broadening and line coupling in bending bands of CO2

The pressure broadening and line coupling cross sections in the Fano-Ben Reuven theory of line shapes are calculated for bending bands of CO2 in a bath of He atoms. Molecular collision dynamics are simplified by invoking the infinite order sudden (IOS) approximation for molecular rotational and vibrational angular momentum in a manner similar to but not identical with the method developed by Clary and shown to be accurate for CO2-He. Numerical values are obtained using a pairwise additive interaction potential developed by Clary. Predictions are in good accord with data for various infrared bands and pure rotational Raman spectra. It is found that all pressure broadening and state-to-state cross sections depend on only a few dynamical factors (generalized IOS cross sections) and are therefore closely interrelated. Results are used to assess models developed previously to analyze line shapes in this and similar systems.

Green, Sheldon↗
NASA NTRS1971

Molecular collisions. XIV

Atom rigid rotor problem, applying generalized phase shift rotational excitation treatment in lowest approximation

Bernstein, R. B.↗
NASA NTRS1967

The nature of intermolecular forces.

Intermolecular forces theory, considering hydrogen atom interaction through Born- Oppenheimer approximation and variational calculations

ATOMIC COLLISION↗
NASA NTRS1979

An angular momentum approximation for molecular collisions in the presence of intense laser radiation

An approximation to a previously presented rigorous description of molecular (atom-atom) collisions occurring in the presence of intense radiation is investigated. This rigorous description explicitly considers the angular momentum transferred between the molecule and the radiation field in the absorption or emission of a photon, but involves a complicated system of close-coupled equations which must be solved independently for each projection M of the initial, total molecular angular momentum. (This is a direct consequence of the lack of rotational invariance in the molecule-field problem). These equations are solved for a model system which mimics the collision of a halogen with a rare gas atom. Empirical observations made in the course of performing these calculations lead to the development of an approximation which avoids the repeated calculations for each initial M. This orientational average approximation greatly reduces the effort required to describe the system, and for the model calculation, yields accurate results for field intensities as high as 10 GW/sq cm.

Devries, P. L.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Potential Energy Curves and Collisions Integrals of Air Components: Interactions Involving Ionized Atoms - 2

Collision integrals are fundamental quantities required to determine the transport properties of the environment surrounding aerospace vehicles in the upper atmosphere. These collision integrals can be determined as a function of temperature from the potential energy curves describing the atomic and molecular collisions. Ab initio calculations provide a practical method of computing the required interaction potentials. In this work we will discuss recent advances in scattering calculations with an emphasis on the accuracy that is obtainable. Results for interactions of the atoms and ionized atoms of nitrogen and oxygen will be reviewed and their application to the determination of transport properties, such as diffusion and viscosity coefficients, will be examined.

Stallcop, James R.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Potential energy curves and collision integrals of air components

Collision integrals are fundamental quantities required to determine the transport properties of the environment surrounding aerospace vehicles in the upper atmosphere. These collision integrals can be determined as a function of temperature from the potential energy curves describing the atomic and molecular collisions. Ab initio calculations provide a practical method of computing the required interaction potentials. In this work we will discuss recent advances with an emphasis on the accuracy that is obtainable. Results for interactions, e.g. N+N, N+O, O+O, and H+N2 will be reviewed and their application to the determination of transport properties, such as diffusion and viscosity coefficients, will be examined.

Partridge, Harry↗
NASA NTRS1984

Laboratory studies of atomic collision processes of importance in planetary atmospheres

Progress in the following research supported under NSG 7386 is reported: (1) measurement of differential cross sections for atomic and molecular collisions relevant to analysis and modeling of data from Pioneer 11, Pioneer 12, Voyager 1, and Voyager 2; (2) analysis of measured differential cross section results to provide scattering data in forms that are easy to apply to atmospheric modeling work; (3) analysis of the data to give basic information on the molecular potentials involved in the scattering process; and (4) development and initial use of apparatus to study dissociative processes in neutral molecules.

Stebbings, R. F.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Many-electron aspects of molecular promotion in ion-atom collisions - Production of core-excited states of Li in Li/+/-He collisions

Production of core-excited autoionizing states of neutral Li having configurations of the form 1snln(prime)l(prime) has been observed over the impact-energy range from 10-50 keV. Although the results for production of all such states is remarkably consistent with a quasi-molecular-excitation model proposed by Stolterfoht and Leithaeuser (1976), production of individual lines in the observed spectra exhibits collision-velocity dependencies indicative of considerably more complex processes, including processes which appear to be inherently two-electron in nature. Excitation functions are presented for (1s2s/2/)/2/S, 1s(2s2p/3/P)/2/P, 1s(2s2p/1/P)/2/P, and (1s2p/2/)/2/D core-excited state of Li and for total core excitation.

Elston, S. B.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Impact of penetrating collisions of plasma ions on spectral line shapes

Spectral-line-broadening models have been moving towards including full Coulomb interactions between the atom and plasma, replacing the commonly used dipole approximation. The effects of the full Coulomb interaction have been thoroughly explored for plasma electrons, resulting in redshifts of spectral lines in high-energy-density plasmas. We explore the impact of a full Coulomb treatment on ion broadening. Penetrating collisions due to ions do not significantly impact the linewidths. The most significant aspect is the appearance of quasimolecular resonances in the far line wings, such as those previously observed in white-dwarf spectra. We identify several problems with the existing models. The most direct implementation causes the quasimolecular features to appear at the wrong photon energies. It is possible to include the detailed molecular structure, but this currently requires the Anderson-Talman approximation, which ignores the N-body properties of the plasma. We find that N-body effects can substantially broaden these quasimolecular features and even shift them, depending on the plasma conditions. We conclude that penetration of ions into the spatial extent of the radiator wave function does not strongly affect the usual diagnostics and may have a moderate to weak effect on opacity. Furthermore, the Rosseland mean opacity is weighted towards low-opacity regions of a spectrum, where these quasimolecular features are found.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Dynamics of resonant low-energy electron attachment to ethanol-producing hydroxide anions

Here, the dynamics of dissociative electron attachment to ethanol is experimentally investigated at the Feshbach resonance formed with incident electron energies near 9.5 eV. Highly differential laboratory-frame momentum distributions of OH – fragments are measured for a series of energies spanning the resonance width, using the velocity-map-imaging technique. The OH – kinetic-energy distribution indicates that the C-O breaking dissociation process could either be a three-body dissociation or a two-body dissociation with significant rovibrational excited fragments. The small, but significant, anisotropy in the OH – angular distribution provides signatures of the molecular symmetry of the associated resonant state under the axial recoil approximation, which assumes the dissociation is much faster than any rotation of the dissociation axis. Within these assumptions, the 9.5-eV Feshbach resonance can be assigned to the electronic transition from the ($10a'$) orbital with its ground-state C s symmetry to the empty ($4a''$) level, involving the simultaneous electron attachment. This dynamics could be a model for C-O dissociation in larger alcohols and ethers.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Anomalies in the Electronic Stopping of Slow Antiprotons in LiF

We present first-principles theoretical calculations for the electronic stopping power (SP) of both protons and antiprotons in LiF. Our results show the presence of the Barkas effect: a higher stopping for positively charged particles than their negatively charged antiparticles. In contrast, a previous study has predicted an anti-Barkas effect (higher stopping for negative charges) at low velocity [Qi, Bruneval and Maliyov, Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 043401 (2022)]. Here, we explain this discrepancy by showing that this anti-Barkas effect appears for highly symmetric trajectories and disappears when considering trajectories that better reproduce the experimental setup. Our low-velocity results show that the SP of both protons and antiproton vanish for velocities under 0.1 a.u.

3-dimensional systems↗