Abstract
A spectroscopic study of the spontaneous emission of free radicals behind strong shocks propagating in the simulated atmospheres of Titan and Mars and in pure CO gas has been carried out in the hypersonic facility of Marseille. A streak camera has been used to obtain time-resolved spectra of tbe Δv = 0 sequence of the B 2 Σ + ↔ X 2 Σ + electronic transition of CN, which is the main emitter in these mixtures. The Swan system of C 2 has also been measured in CO gas. The effect of different initial test gas pressures in the shock tube on the emission of CN in the Titan mixture has been investigated. The comparison between experimental and synthetic spectra shows very high nonequilibrium phenomena in the shock layer. Evidence of non-Boltzmann distribution of the vibrational population of CN has been observed, particularly in high initial pressure conditions.
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