Unimolecular Chemical Kinetics in the Interstellar: Competition of Infrared Radiation and Collision Activation Mechanisms

Abstract

Unimolecular gas phase chemical reactions could be activated by both infrared (IR) radiation and inter-molecular collision in the interstellar environment. Understanding the interplay and competition between the radiation and collision activation mechanisms is crucial for assessing accurate reaction rate constants with an appropriate model. In this work, guided by an extended version of Lindemann theory that considers the contribution of both the radiation-activation and collision-activation to the rate constant of unimolecular reactions, we show that the relative importance of the two mechanisms can be measured by a dimensionless number $PR$ that is the ratio of the collision frequency to the radiation absorption rate of the molecule. The reaction kinetic is dominated by collision-activation or by radiation activation depending on whether $PR$ is larger or smaller than a reference value $PR^*$, which is determined to be $PR^* \approx 10$ based on magnitudes of molecular properties and is verified by detailed calculations of a number of typical interstellar unimolecular reactions. This method of evaluating the relative importance of the two mechanisms is checked against master equation calculations of two interstellar reactions: the dissociation reaction of silicilic acid around the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star and the methyl association in Titan's atmosphere, and the validity is verified. The method can be used in the future to help determine the appropriate and effective modeling approach for chemical reactions in astrophysical environments.