Direct simulation of non-equilibrium kinetics under shock conditions in nitrogen

We study the interplay of vibrational kinetics, dissociation, translational and rotational relaxation in a strong shock wave in nitrogen by Direct Simulation Monte Carlo simulation (DSMC). The input data for vibrational and chemical processes are all in the form of cross-sections, mostly determined by molecular physics methods. In particular, we use for the first time very recent Quasi-Classical Trajectory (QCT) results for cross-sections of multi-quantum VT energy exchange and dissociation in N+N2 collisions. Non-equilibrium distributions are observed and discussed.