Rotationally inelastic processes of C2-1 (-1σg+ colliding with He (1S) at low temperatures: Ab initio interaction potential, state changing rates and kinetic modelling

Abstract

We discuss in detail the quantum rotationally inelastic dynamics of an important anion often discussed as a possible constituent of the interstellar medium (ISM) and in different environments of circumstellar envelopes: the C2- molecular ion. Its interaction forces with one of the most abundant atoms of the ISM, the neutral helium atom, are obtained for the first time using ab initio quantum chemistry methods. The overall angular anisotropy of the potential energy surface is analysed in order to link its features with the efficiency of transferring energy from the abundant He atoms to the internal rotational levels of this molecular anion. Calculations of the corresponding rotational state-to-state inelastic cross sections, for both excitation and de-excitation paths are obtained by using a multichannel quantum method. The corresponding inelastic rates at the temperatures of interest are determined and their role in distributing molecular states over the different populations of the rotational levels at the temperatures of that environment is discussed. These computed rates are also linked to the dynamical behaviour of the title molecule when confined in cold ion traps and made to interact with He as the common buffer gas, in preparation for state-selective photo-detachment experiments.