Rate coefficients for H2:H2 inelastic collisions in the ground vibrational state from 10 to 1000 K

Abstract

Aims. In this work, we present a pruned set of state-to-state rate coefficients (STS rates) for inelastic H2:H2 collisions in the thermal range from 10 to 1000 K. The set includes all relevant rates needed for diagnostics based on the simulation of quadrupole infrared spectra of H2. Methods. The reported set was obtained from a quantum scattering close-coupling calculation employing a recent version of the MOLSCAT code, a high-level potential energy surface, and rotational energies of the H2 molecules with spectroscopic accuracy. These improvements have led to a significant increase in the accuracy with respect to previous computational results. The accuracy of the present STS rates is tested against recently reported experimental rates. Most dominant rates agree with the experiment within a 2σ uncertainty (2 to 6%). Results. In addition to the tables given in the main text, three machine-readable tables are available at the CDS. These tables include all the relevant numerical results of the paper, namely, the excitation and de-excitation STS rates for H2:H2 inelastic collisions at selected temperatures between 10 and 1000 K, and their functional description for interpolation at any intermediate temperature.