Determination of the thermal rate coefficient, products, and branching ratios for the reaction of O⁺(²D) with N₂

Measurements taken by the Atmosphere Explorer‐C satellite are used to determine rate coefficients for the reactions . The following results are obtained: k 1 = (1 −0.5 +1 ) × 10 −10 cm 3 s −1 , k 2 = (3 −2 +7 ) × 10 −11 cm 3 s −1 , and k 3 < 5.5 × 10 −11 cm 3 s −1 . Laboratory measurements of k 1 and k 3 have recently been published. These yielded k 1 = 1.5 × 10 −10 cm 3 s −1 and k 3 = 1.3 × 10 −11 cm 3 s −1 , in agreement with the atmospheric determination.