Investigation of the excitation of nitrogen molecules in the positive column of a discharge in a mixture of CO2 and N2

The absolute populations of the electron states of the nitrogen molecule C³_u and B³_g in the positive column of a discharge in a mixture of CO₂ and N₂ at an overall pressure of 2.5 mm Hg, a ratio of the components of 11, and a current of 60 mA, are determined. An estimate is made of the possibility of exciting the electron state C³_u by direct electron collision and by multistage excitation from the electron state B³_g. It is suggested that the most probable process by which the electron state C³_u is excited is multistage excitation from vibrational levels of the electron state B³_g.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 10, pp. 49–52, October, 1972.