Abstract
We apply state-resolved molecular kinetics to study the chemical evolution of the primordial Universe. In particular, the vibrationally resolved kinetics of the most abundant molecular species, H2 and its cation H +2 , is calculated by solving a master equation. The results show that the vibrational level populations of these two species are not in local thermal equilibrium for a wide range of redshifts. We discuss possible effects of such non-equilibrium distributions on the cosmic background radiation.
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Acknowledgments
S.L., M.C. and C.M.C. would like to acknowledge Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", that partially supported this project (fondi d’Ateneo 2010).
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Longo, S., Coppola, C.M., Galli, D. et al. The role of vibrationally excited molecules in the chemistry of the early Universe. Rend. Fis. Acc. Lincei 22, 119–123 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-011-0119-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-011-0119-3