A new instrument for kinetics and branching ratio studies of gas phase collisional processes at very low temperatures

A new instrument dedicated to the kinetic study of low-temperature gas phase neutral-neutral reactions, including clustering processes, is presented. It combines a supersonic flow reactor with vacuum ultra-violet synchrotron photoionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. A photoion-photoelectron coincidence detection scheme has been adopted to optimize the particle counting efficiency. The characteristics of the instrument are detailed along with its capabilities illustrated through a few results obtained at low temperatures (<100 K) including a photoionization spectrum of n-butane, the detection of formic acid dimer formation, and the observation of diacetylene molecules formed by the reaction between the C₂H radical and C₂H₂.

Fine-structure transitions of interstellar atomic sulfur and silicon induced by collisions with helium

Atomic sulfur and silicon are important constituents of the interstellar matter and are both used as tracers of the physical conditions in interstellar shocks and outflows. We present an investigation of the spin-orbit (de-)excitation of S(³P) and Si(³P) atoms induced by collisions with helium with the aim to improve the determination of atomic sulfur and silicon abundances in the interstellar medium from S and Si emission spectra. Quantum-mechanical calculations have been performed in order to determine rate coefficients for the fine-structure transitions in the 5-1000 K temperature range. The scattering calculations are based on new highly correlated ab initio potentials. The theoretical results show that the (de-)excitation of Si is much faster than that of S. The rate coefficients deduced from this study are in good agreement with previous experimental and theoretical findings despite some deviations at low temperatures. From the computation of critical densities defined as the ratios between Einstein coefficients and the sum of the relevant collisional de-excitation rate coefficients, we show that local thermodynamic equilibrium conditions are not fulfilled for analyzing S and Si emission spectra observed in the interstellar medium. Hence, the present rate coefficients will be extremely useful for the accurate determination of interstellar atomic sulfur and silicon abundances.

Experimental and theoretical study of the collisional quenching of S(1D) by Ar

We present an experimental and theoretical investigation of the deactivation rate of S(¹D) atoms by collisions with argon.

Low Temperature Kinetics of the First Steps of Water Cluster Formation

We present a combined experimental and theoretical low temperature kinetic study of water cluster formation. Water cluster growth takes place in low temperature (23-69 K) supersonic flows. The observed kinetics of formation of water clusters are reproduced with a kinetic model based on theoretical predictions for the first steps of clusterization. The temperature- and pressure-dependent association and dissociation rate coefficients are predicted with an ab initio transition state theory based master equation approach over a wide range of temperatures (20-100 K) and pressures (10^{-6}-10  bar).

The reaction of anthracene with OH radicals: An experimental study of the kinetics between 58 and 470K

The first direct measurement of the reaction rate constant of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon in the gas phase in the temperature range 58-470 K is reported. The reaction is OH+ anthracene and the experiment has been performed in a continuous flow Cinetique de Reaction en Ecoulement Supersonique Uniforme apparatus, which had to be modified for this purpose. Pulsed laser photolysis of H(2)O(2) has been used to generate OH radicals and laser-induced fluorescence to observe the kinetic decay of the radicals and hence determine the rate coefficients. The reaction is found to be fast, and the rate constant increases monotonically as the temperature is lowered. The rate coefficients match the expression k(cm(3) molecules(-1) s(-1))=1.12 x 10(-10)(T/300)(-0.46).