Red-light initiated atmospheric reactions of vibrationally excited molecules

Abstract

We present a brief review of long wavelength, red-light initiated chemistry from excited vibrational levels of the ground electronic state of atmospheric trace species. When sunlight driven electronic state reactions are not effective, photochemical processes occurring by vibrational overtone excitation have been found to be important in reactions of oxidized atmospheric compounds (acids, alcohols and peroxides) prevalent in the Earth's atmosphere. This review focuses on the fundamental energetic, mechanistic and dynamical aspects of unimolecular reactions of vibrationally excited atmospheric species. We will discuss the relevance of these red light initiated reactions to address the discrepancies between atmospheric measurements and results of standard atmospheric models.