We discuss here the dissociative recombination (DR) reactions that are of importance to various processes in the thermospheres/ionosphere of the earth and planets, the data required to model these processes, and the desired format for these data. DR may be important for the chemistry of thermospheres/ionosphere, both as a loss process for ions and a production mechanism for minor neutrals. These neutrals may be metastable species that can participate in reactions not available to ground state species, or they may radiate, producing airglow or cooling. Because DR reactions are usually highly exothermic, they can also contribute to neutral heating. If the DR reactions are produced high enough in the atmosphere of a body with a small gravity well, the energetic neutrals formed can contribute to escape of species from the atmosphere, to the isotope fractionation of the escaping atoms, and thus to atmospheric evolution.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jane_fox/29/