Quantum chemistry and collisions in planetary atmospheres

COMP 108

David L. Huestis, david.huestis@sri.com, Molecular Physics Laboratory, SRI International, 333 Ravenswood Ave., Menlo Park, CA 94025
The photochemistry of planetary atmospheres generates reactive atoms and small molecules whose subsequent collisions and chemical reactions must be characterized before reliable climate models can be constructed. From this wide variety of collision processes there are many that are very difficult to investigate experimentally.

Here we will review a few examples in which quantum chemistry can make essential contributions to our understanding. These include

(1) The O2(5Πg) State and Oxygen Atom Recombination

(2) CO3 Potential Energy Surfaces and CO2 Radiative Cooling

(3) H2 Ortho-Para Conversion and Transport in Giant Planet Tropospheres

(4) H+ + H2 (v) Ion-Molecule Reactions and Electron Densities in Giant Planet Ionospheres

This work is supported by NSF and NASA.