Heavy-particle elementary processes in hypersonic flows

The fundamental role of ro-vibrational kinetics in the detailed study of hypersonic flows is now well recognized [1-4], where a strong non-equilibrium of molecular internal degrees of freedom is associated with exchanges of ro-vibrational energy in collisions of molecules with other molecules, and with atoms generated by collision- induced dissociation. In order to introduce this kind of information in hypersonic models, it is necessary to know the specific rate coefficients of all these processes. In particular, studying the interaction of diatomic nitrogen with diatomic and atomic nitrogen is of critical importance in the study of non-equilibrium air chemistry. Understanding this process requires an accurate characterization of the finite-rate chemical processes, in particular energy transfer and dissociation or recombination reactions.