The role of the long-range tail of the potential in O 2 + N 2 collisional inelastic vibrational energy transfers

International audienceIn the study of non-reactive energy transfer between the O 2 and N 2 molecules bearing different vibrationally excited states we have faced the problem of selecting a proper formulation of the interaction. To this end we have compared the values of the related observables computed either on a potential energy surface globally fitted to a very large of ab initio potential energy values [Varga et al., J. Chem. Phys., 2016, 144, 024310] and on a more traditional one formulated as a combination of an intra-and inter-molecular model component of the interaction (both based on combined use of experimental and ab initio information) [Garcia et al., J. Phys. Chem. A, 2016, 120, 5208] in order to enforce an appropriate modelling of the long-range tail of the potential, crucial for the description of the inelastic vibrational energy transfer. The detailed graphical analysis of the potential plus the quantitative analysis of the computed opacity functions, of the state-to-state rate coefficients, of the second virial coefficient and of the integral non-reactive cross section allowed us to conclude that the model formulation of the interaction has to be preferred for non-reactive studies of the O 2 + N 2 energy transfer processes in thermal and subthermal regimes