Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
are considered on the basis of a number of theoretical models. The relevance of
diffusion motion of the optical electron through the Rydberg energy states toward
the continuum resulting from appearance of the dynamics chaos regime in its
evolution is demonstrated.
Keywords
Metastable and Rydberg atoms Ionization in slow atom collision
Intermediate Rydberg complex Dynamics chaos
1.1
Introduction
Chemical ionization processes in the thermal and subthermal collisions of heavy
particles with participation of the excited atoms are characterized by appreciable
values of the reaction rate constants (Klyucharev and Vujnovic
1990
; Klyucharev
1993
). The universe at the initial stage of its existence was composed mainly of
atoms, molecules, and positive and negative ions, containing HD
˙
,LIH
˙
, hydro-
gen, deuterium, helium, and lithium in their variety and different combinations.
The results of recent spectroscopic observations of cosmic objects in the infrared
range have shown the presence of anomalies, which appear in the disappearance
of lines emitted by the hydrogen-like Rydberg atoms (RA) with values of the
effective quantum number
n
eff
of the order of 10 (Gnedin et al.
2009
). To this range,
n
eff
corresponds to the maximum on dependences of the RA chemical ionization
processes
k
(
n
eff
) rate constants, i.e.:
8
<
XY
C
C
e
;
X
C
Y
C
C
e
;
X
C
C
Y
C
e
:
X
.n
eff
/
C
Y
)
(1.1)
:
When the concentration of neutral atoms is
c
A
10
17
cm
3
and the rate constant is
k
10
9
cm
3
c
1
, the effective lifetime of RA is about
eff
10
8
s (note that for
hydrogen RA with
n
eff
D
10, the table value gives
eff
D
10
6
s).
The concept of low-temperature plasma physics includes sections of elementary
processes and their applications. Interest in development in this direction, which first
had appeared in the early twentieth century, not only has not declined but is con-
stantly increasing. Now we can speak about the new field of “chemistry of plasma
physics,” which is a junction of atomic and molecular collisions and chemistry of
elementary gas-phase reactions leading to chemical transformations, including ion-
ization and chemical ionization (Smirnov
1981
). Studying the physics of ionization
processes involving heavy particles, we have to consider the fundamental statements
of atomic collision physics, which makes it possible to detect new phenomena and
laws. One is the discovery of the new phenomenon of low-temperature plasma gas
medium formation at its irradiation by light with wavelengths corresponding to
resonant optical transitions in the atom (photoresonance plasma). Such plasma at
the initial stage of its formation cannot be described within the traditional scheme
of the gas discharge.
