Radiation excited by shock waves in a CO2-N2-Ar mixture: Experiment and theory

On the basis of experimental data both published and obtained by the authors on radiation excited in CO 2 -N 2 -Ar mixtures by shock waves, a physicochemical model of such mixtures is developed that can be recommended for calculating the heat exchange and radiation of vehicles descending in the Martian atmosphere. It is shown that the usually adopted assumption of the locally equilibrium population of the electron-exited states is invalid. This makes it necessary to consider each electron-excited state separately. The rate constants of the excitation processes of electron states CN( A 2 Π), CN( B 2 Σ + ), and C 2 ( d 3 Π g ) produced as a result of collisions with heavy particles are determined.