Self-consistent kinetic model of the short-lived afterglow in flowing nitrogen

A detailed kinetic model for the flowing nitrogen microwave discharge and post-discharge is developed with the aim of gaining a deeper understanding into the processes responsible for the formation of the short-lived afterglow of nitrogen and for the enhancement of the concentration of metastable, measured at approximately the same position in Sadeghi et al ( 2001 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 34 1779 ). The present work shows that the peaks observed in the afterglow, for the density of molecules in radiative N 2 (B 3 Π g ) and and metastable states, can be explained as a result of a pumping-up phenomenon into the vibrational ladder produced by near-resonant V–V energy-exchange collisions, involving vibrationally excited molecules in levels as high as v ∼ 35. The present predictions are shown to be in good agreement with the measured concentrations for metastables and N( 4 S) atoms, and with the emission intensities of 1 + and 1 − system bands of N 2 .