Computational Astrochemistry: H2O - H2 collisions

Computational Astrochemistry: H2O - H2 collisions

Michał Żółtowski, Piotr Żuchowski and Agata Karska

Quantum mechanical calculations play an important role in astrochemistry. Excitation of molecules in dense regions of interstellar medium occurs mainly through collisions with abundant species such as H2 and He. Thus, computation of the collisional rate coefficients are necessary to infer the physico-chemical parameters of the gas. Here, we calculate the inelastic cross sections for the collisions of H2O and H2 including very high rotational levels. These calculations are important to analyze the forthcoming data from the James Webb Space Telescope, which will observe hot H2O lines with unprecedented sensitivity.

Proceedings of the Polish Astronomical Society, vol. 7, 181-183 (2018)

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Computational Astrochemistry: H2O - H2 collisions