Dissociative recombination exalts molecular growth in N₂ /CH₄ plasmas

Pascal Pernot (1) , Zhe Peng (1) , S. Plessis (1) , Nathalie Carrasco (2, 3)

1 LCPO - Laboratoire de Chimie Physique D'Orsay
2 PLANETO - LATMOS
3 IUF - Institut universitaire de France

We present a comparison of the outcomes of two models of N₂ /CH₄ VUV plasmas in two sets of conditions representative of a laboratory experiment and of Titan's ionosphere. The "FullDR" model incorporates all available experimental data on dissociative recombination od C_xHN_z⁺ ions thanks to the probabilistic tree technique recently developed in our group, whereas the "Hloss" model implements the H-loss pathways used by default in many models. We show that the FullDR model enhances globally the production of neutrals and ions, through the production of C₂H_x fragments. These species are efficient promoters of molecular growth, notably in the higher pressure conditions of the laboratory experiment.

Domaines: Physique Atmosphérique et Océanique [physics.ao-ph]

Pascal Pernot, Zhe Peng, S. Plessis, Nathalie Carrasco. Dissociative recombination exalts molecular growth in N₂ /CH₄ plasmas. EPJ Web of Conferences, 2015, 84, 06003 (6 p.). ⟨10.1051/epjconf/20158406003⟩. ⟨hal-01113141⟩