Dissociative electron attachment cross sections for ro-vibrationally excited NO molecule and N − anion formation

Abstract

Abstract Motivated by the huge need for data for non-equilibrium plasma modeling, a theoretical investigation of dissociative electron attachment to the NO molecule is performed. The calculations presented here are based on the local-complex-potential approach, taking into account five NO− resonances. Three specific channels of the process are studied, including the production of excited nitrogen atoms N(2D) and of its anions N−. Interpretation of the existing experimental data and their comparison with our theoretical result are given. A full set of ro-vibrationally-resolved cross sections and the corresponding rate coefficients are reported. In particular, a relatively large cross sections for N− ion formation at low energy of the incident electron and for vibrationally excited NO target are predicted. Finally, molecular rotation effects are discussed.