Rotational Excitation Rates of HCO+

Low energy e^−^-HCO^+^ collisions result in rotational excitation and other molecular processes. In this study, the cross-sections for rotational transitions in HCO^+^ are evaluated for four rotational levels (j = 0, 1, 2, and 3) using the UK R-matrix method and the multichannel quantum defect theory (MQDT).

The UK R-matrix method used to generate scattering matrices, through which cross-sections are computed. In past two decades, after developments and implementations of different theoretical approaches, the improved channel elimination procedure applied here is more promising to evaluate more accurate results near rotational thresholds important for the analysis of intensities of microwave region in plasma modelling. The rate coefficients are deduced from the computed cross-sections and studied over a wide electron temperature range.