Calculation of vibrational energy transition rates in acoustic relaxation processes for excitable gas molecules

To research the correlation between vibrational energy transition rates and acoustic relaxation processes in excitable gases, the vibrational relaxation theory provided by TanczosJ. Chem. Phys. 25, 439 (1956) is applied to calculate the energy transition rates of Vibrational-Vibrational (V-V) and Vibrational-Translational (V-T) energy transfer in gas mixtures. The results of calculated vibrational energy transition rates for the multi-relaxation processes in various gas mixtures, consisting of carbon dioxide, methane, chlorine, nitrogen, and oxygen at room temperature, demonstrate that the acoustic energy stagnated in every vibrational mode is coupled with each other through V-V energy exchanges. The vibrational excitation energy will relax through the V-T de-excitation path of the lowest mode because of its fastest V-T transition rate, resulting in only one absorption peak can be measured for most of excitable gas mixtures. Thus, an effective model is provided to analyze how the vibrational energy transition rates affect the characteristics of acoustic relaxation processes and acoustic propagation in excitable gas mixtures.