Collision processes of hydrocarbon species in hydrogen plasmas I : the methane family

Abstract

Cross sections and rate coefficients are provided for collision processes of CH$_{y}$ and CH$^{+}_{y}$ (1$\le$y$\le$4) hydrocarbon species with electrons and protons in a wide range of collision energy and temperature. The considered processes include: electron impact ionisation and dissociation of CH$_{y}$, dissociative excitation, ionisation and recombination of CH$^{+}_{y}$ wich electrons, and charge- and atom exchange in proton collisions with CH$_{y}$. In dissociative processes all important reaction channels are considered separately. Information is also provided about the energetics for each individual reaction channel. The cross sections and rate coefficients are represented in analytic fit forms