The role of van der Waals molecules in vibrational relaxation kinetics

The relaxation kinetics of N₂O and CO₂ vibrationally excited molecules (VEM) in two-phase gas-cluster systems was investigated under conditions of supersonic expansion with condensation. The catalytic effect of clusters on the vibrational relaxation rate was revealed. The relaxation rate of clustered VEM, R_c, and the probability of relaxation of VEM per collision with a cluster, $\text{P}$, as functions of the average number of molecules in a cluster, $\text{N}$, were obtained. Values of R_c and $\text{P}$ increase rapidly with increasing $\text{N}$, and at $\text{N}$ = constant they decrease with decreasing cluster temperature.