title: Structure and Abundance of Nitrous Oxide Complexes in Earth's Atmosphere.
abstract: We have investigated the lowest energy structures and binding energies of a series of atmospherically relevant nitrous oxide (N2O) complexes using explicitly correlated coupled cluster theory. Specifically, we have considered complexes with nitrogen (N2-N2O), oxygen (O2-N2O), argon (Ar-N2O), and water (H2O-N2O). We have calculated rotational constants and harmonic vibrational frequencies for the complexes and the constituent monomers. Statistical mechanics was used to determine the thermodynamic parameters for complex formation as a function of temperature and pressure. These results, in combination with relevant atmospheric data, were used to estimate the abundance of N2O complexes in Earth's atmosphere as a function of altitude. We find that the abundance of N2O complexes in Earth's atmosphere is small but non-negligible, and we suggest that N2O complexes may contribute to absorption of terrestrial radiation and be relevant for understanding the atmospheric fate of N2O.
authors.affiliation: School of Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Waikato , Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Steven R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Salmon
authors.affiliation: School of Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Waikato , Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Katrina M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: de Lange
authors.affiliation: School of Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Waikato , Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Joseph R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Lane