Summary
The study of collisions between cold molecules is currently an area of intense research interest, which opens many new possibilities to study the most fundamental aspects of molecular interactions and brings the goal of manipulation and control of chemical reactions within reach. Moreover, fully understanding of cold molecular collisions could shed new light on some important puzzles in the Earth’s atmospheric and interstellar chemistry. However, to date, the study of cold molecular collisions remains largely unexplored, due to a huge challenge in the experimental approach. A new crossed-beam scattering experimental method combined with a multistage Zeeman decelerator and recoil-free resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) detection schemes proposed in this project allows us to investigate the dynamics of cold and controlled molecular collisions with unprecedented resolution in a new, previously inaccessible, regime. The focus will be on addressing some valuable and intriguing scientific problems relevant to atmospheric and interstellar chemistry. The objectives of this proposal will be to observe and understand scattering resonances in low-energy inelastic scattering of He with NH and ND, find a solution to the long-standing “interstellar oxygen problem” in the barrierless radical-radical reaction of O with OH, and test the validity of the statistical treatment of ozone formation in atmospheric chemistry models in the exchange reaction of O with molecular oxygen. The combination of the scattering data that will be obtained and the high-level quantum scattering calculations will provide a critical and unique test for current models of chemical processes occurred in the Earth’s atmosphere, interstellar space. The proposed research will be a major breakthrough in the emerging research field of cold molecular collisions and lay a foundation to manipulate and control chemical reactions.
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| Web resources: | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/889328 |
| Start date: | 01-10-2020 |
| End date: | 30-09-2022 |
| Total budget - Public funding: | 187 572,48 Euro - 187 572,00 Euro |
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Original description
The study of collisions between cold molecules is currently an area of intense research interest, which opens many new possibilities to study the most fundamental aspects of molecular interactions and brings the goal of manipulation and control of chemical reactions within reach. Moreover, fully understanding of cold molecular collisions could shed new light on some important puzzles in the Earth’s atmospheric and interstellar chemistry. However, to date, the study of cold molecular collisions remains largely unexplored, due to a huge challenge in the experimental approach. A new crossed-beam scattering experimental method combined with a multistage Zeeman decelerator and recoil-free resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) detection schemes proposed in this project allows us to investigate the dynamics of cold and controlled molecular collisions with unprecedented resolution in a new, previously inaccessible, regime. The focus will be on addressing some valuable and intriguing scientific problems relevant to atmospheric and interstellar chemistry. The objectives of this proposal will be to observe and understand scattering resonances in low-energy inelastic scattering of He with NH and ND, find a solution to the long-standing “interstellar oxygen problem” in the barrierless radical-radical reaction of O with OH, and test the validity of the statistical treatment of ozone formation in atmospheric chemistry models in the exchange reaction of O with molecular oxygen. The combination of the scattering data that will be obtained and the high-level quantum scattering calculations will provide a critical and unique test for current models of chemical processes occurred in the Earth’s atmosphere, interstellar space. The proposed research will be a major breakthrough in the emerging research field of cold molecular collisions and lay a foundation to manipulate and control chemical reactions.Status
CLOSEDCall topic
MSCA-IF-2019Update Date
28-04-2024
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