A radiation model for nonequilibrium molecular gases

Abstract

Solutions to the radiative transfer equation in a nonequilibrium gas are derived in a form paralleling the usual equilibrium solutions These nonequilibrium solutions are given in terms of an absorption coefficient and a Planck-like energy distribution, both of which are expressed as functions of effective electronic excitation temperatures and relative oscillatorstrength distributions across the spectrum Approximate oscillator-strength distributions are presented which are functions of vibrational temperature only, and which give an averaged profile of the band produced by a given electronic transition Example calculations are made at vibrational temperatures of 1000°, 3000 , and 10,000°K for the strong molecular bands in nitrogen: namely, the N2 firstand second-positive and the N2 + first-negative bands