DETERMINATION OF THE RECOMBINATION RATE-CONSTANT FOR ELECTRONS WITH KRYPTON IONS FROM THE RESULTS OF BALLISTIC EXPERIMENTS

The experimental data of probe measurements of the electron density n( e) in the wake of a sphere flying in krypton at a hypersonic velocity are analyzed and processed. The distribution of n(e0) along the turbul ent wake axis has been determined. The solution of equations describin g a nonequilibrium boundary layer for flow in the wake is used to form ulate the inverse problem for determining the rate constant k(r)(T) of the reaction of dissociative recombination Kr-2(+) + e --> Kr + Kr. T he results of the numerical solution of the inverse problem are compar ed with the experimental and theoretical data of other researchers. Th e investigation results indicate that measurements of n(e) in ballisti c experiments offer a new promising method for determining various kin etic constants in supersonic gas flows.