HR: 0800h
AN: SA11A-1108    [Abstracts]
TI: On the Role of Vibrationally Excited H$_2$ as a Source of OH in the Mesosphere
AU: Naduvalath, B
EM: naduvala@unlv.nevada.edu
AF: Department of Chemistry, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89154 United States
AU: * Sultanov, R A
EM: sultano2@unlv.nevada.edu
AF: Department of Chemistry, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89154 United States
AB: It has recently been suggested that$^{1}$ the reaction between vibrationally excited H$_2(v=1)$ and O($^3P$) atoms may be an important source of OH in the upper mesosphere. Here, we report accurate quantum calculations of rate coefficients for the O($^3P$)+H$_2(v=1)$ reaction and show that the proposed mechanism is not an important source of OH in the mesosphere$^{2}$. The reaction of vibrationally excited H$_2(v=1-3)$ with oxygen atoms has also been suggested as a source of OH in photon dominated regions of the interstellar medium. We present results for $v=2$ and 3 of the H$_2$ molecule using chemically accurate potential energy surfaces for the O+H$_2$ system and quantum mechanical method for the calculation of the relevant cross sections and rate coefficients. This work was supported by NSF grant No. ATM-0205199. $^1$ L. M. Reynard and D. J. Donaldson, Geophys. Res. Lett. {\bf 28}, 2157 (2001). $^2$ N. Balakrishnan, Geophys. Res. Lett. {\bf 31}, L04106 (2004).
DE: 0310 Airglow and aurora
DE: 0317 Chemical kinetic and photochemical properties
DE: 0340 Middle atmosphere--composition and chemistry
DE: 0342 Middle atmosphere--energy deposition
DE: 0343 Planetary atmospheres (5405, 5407, 5409, 5704, 5705, 5707)
SC: SPA-Aeronomy [SA]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting