Date of Award
Spring 2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Chemistry
First Advisor
Johnson, Mark
Abstract
The atmosphere provides a different medium than Earth’s surface, with a different background of radiation as well as far from standard pressure and temperature. It can be home to unique chemical reactions. Measuring the fundamental properties of these systems is required to understand the macroscopic effects observed in the atmosphere. In order to obtain these measurements, gas-phase techniques such as cryogenic ion spectroscopy and selected ion flow tube experiments are employed. Solution-phase and bulk gas-phase measurements suffer from difficulty isolating unique species and keeping them in uniform environments. On the other hand, cryogenic ion spectroscopy benefits from a more uniform environment. The cryogenic temperatures (~10 - 50 K) limit the total number of states in play, which increases the precision of measurements. Selected-ion flow tube experiments provide one of the best ways to explore the kinetic interactions of a chemical species. Together, cryogenic ion spectroscopy and selected ion flow tube experiments can provide a nearly complete picture of species’ chemical interactions that can explain macroscopic phenomena.
Recommended Citation
Lachowicz, Anton Luke, "Cryogenic Studies of Upper Atmosphere: Chemical Species and Reactions" (2023). Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations. 1031.
https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/gsas_dissertations/1031
