Aannestad, P.A., and G.B. Field, 1973: Hot H2 and interstellar shocks. Astrophys. J., 186, L29-L32.
The rotational excitation of H2, molecules by interstellar shock waves is calculated. Level populations integrated through a shock in a cloud of density of 10 cm-3 have nearly exponential distributions, with effective rotational temperatures Tr = 15 V1.5° K, where V is the shock velocity in km/s. Ortho-para conversion is effective for high shock velocities, but not for low ones, so that the degree of alternation of intensities of rotational lines in the Lyman absorption band should be correlated with V, and therefore with Tr. The results are compared with observations of Hn rotational levels made by the Copernicus satellite.