2020MNRAS.494.5675C

Molecular ions play an important role in the astrochemistry of interstellar and circumstellar media. C₃H⁺ has been identified in the interstellar medium recently. A new potential energy surface of the C₃H⁺-He van der Waals complex is computed using the ab initio explicitly correlated coupled cluster with the single, double and perturbative triple excitation [CCSD(T)-F12] method and the augmented correlation consistent polarized valence triple zeta (aug-cc-pVTZ) basis set. The potential presents a well of 174.6 cm^–1 in linear geometry towards the H end. Calculations of pure rotational excitation cross-sections of C₃H⁺ by He are carried out using the exact quantum mechanical close-coupling approach. Cross-sections for transitions among the rotational levels of C₃H⁺ are computed for energies up to 600 cm^–1. The cross-sections are used to obtain the collisional rate coefficients for temperatures T <= 100 K. Along with laboratory experiments, the results obtained in this work may be very useful for astrophysical applications to understand hydrocarbon chemistry.