Excited-state production in collisions of H and He with N2, CO, and O2 over the energy range 150-2400 eV

Spectroscopic analysis of optical emissions resulting from collisions between diatomic molecules (N2, CO, O2) and hydrogen or helium atoms has been performed over the kinetic energy range approx.150-2400 eV. The data yield product vibronic-state distributions from collision-induced excitation, impact ionization, and excitation transfer processes. For most of the processes observed spin is conserved. It was found that vibrational-state distributions of excited electronic product molecular ions were not in accord with those predicted from a simple vertical transition model. Excited neutral molecules, on the other hand, exhibited state distributions that could be characterized by this model