Dissociation by Impacts of the Second Kind

The process by which an excited Kr atom in an impact of the second kind dissociates an N2 molecule is investigated by comparison with related processes. (1) The production of free N atoms is not due to an atom transfer reaction. (2) It is not due to the ``resonance'' transfer of electronic energy of Kr′ directly into vibrational energy of N2 leading to dissociation. (3) It is due to the transfer of electronic energy of Kr′ into electronic energy of N2. The simplest interpretation is the production of a repulsive level of N2 which immediately dissociates.