Abstract: | An approximate analytic solution is found to the problem of the vibrational-translational relaxation of anharmonic oscillators at translational temperatures which are small compared with the energy difference between adjacent levels of the oscillator. The deviation of the obtained distribution from the Boltzmann distribution in the relaxation process is analyzed. A study is made of the behavior of the vibrational energy near equilibrium at temperatures such that dissociation has only a small effect on the rate of vibrational relaxation.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 2, pp. 3–8, March–April, 1976.The author wishes to thank M. B. Zheleznyak and A. Kh. Mnatsakanyan for a useful discussion of the work. |