Calculation of Electron-Scattering Cross Sections Relevant for Hypersonic Plasma Modeling

Electron-impact induced, optically allowed excitations to the B 2Π and C 2Π states in NO molecule are considered in the framework of the similarity approach, accounting for the non-adiabatic vibronic coupling perturbing the vibrational progression in the excited states. A model for the coupling is proposed from ab initio electronic structure calculations and theoretical oscillator strengths and Einstein coefficients are estimated for its validation. State-to-state and total cross sections are derived and, for the transition from the v″ = 0 level of the ground state, similarity results well compare with available experiments.