OH(nu)+O-3: Does chemical reaction dominate over nonreactive quenching?

We discuss the title atmospheric reaction for vibrational excited states of OH over the range 0 less than or equal to v less than or equal to 9. All c alculations have employed the quasi-classical trajectory (QCT) method and a realistic double many-body expansion (DMBE) potential energy surface for H O4 ((2)A). For v = 9, the calculated thermal rate coefficient is found to a gree with measurements of OH quenching reported by others, which has been a ttributed to both chemical reaction and nonreactive collisions. The tempera ture dependence of the rate constant is described by a simple model for all studied vibrational states of OH. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All right s reserved.