Cooling by H3+ Emission

Emission by the H-3(+) molecular ion may be important in determining the energy balance in astrophysical situations, such as in (exo)planetary atmospheres Here we report the calculation of a new cooling function, based on refitted partition functions and a recalculation of the total energy emitted by the molecule. This new function gives significantly increased cooling at higher temperatures, typical of those found in the atmospheres of gas giants. It is shown that nonthermal effects also need to be considered A link to a web based code to calculate radiative cooling in H-2/H-3(+) gas mixtures, including the effects of departures from equilibrium, is provided.