Population inversion behind a shock in a mixture of H2, F2, and He

The results of a numerical investigation conducted by Guenoche et al. (1974) are briefly considered. In this investigation the possibility had been studied to obtain a population inversion behind a shock wave and an expansion wave which propagate in a mixture of hydrogen and fluorine that is greatly diluted with helium. The calculation, which was based on a very simplified reaction mechanism, led to a number of important results. The previously considered situation has now been studied again in a numerical calculation that is based on a more complex reaction mechanism. It is found that the first investigation provides already a very good qualitative description of phenomena observed in the second investigation.