Thermal-conductivity of a gas of diatomic vibrationally excited molecules

A discussion is presented about various mechanisms leading to a fall in the numerical values of the Aiken factor of diatomic molecular gases in the high-temperature region (by comparison with the values derived from the theoretical Mason–Monchick formulas). The influence of the rotational-vibrational cross terms on the Aiken factor is considered in detail. Comparison with experiment shows that a comparatively small value of the rotational-vibrational coupling parameter is sufficient to provide the required reduction in the numerical values of the Aiken factor in the high-temperature range.