Electronic excitation and isentropic coefficients of high temperature planetary atmosphere plasma

In this paper we have discussed the eects of electronically excited states of atomic species in aecting the isentropic coecients of plasmas, focusing on mixtures representing the atmospheres of Jupiter, Mars and Earth. General behaviors have been rationalized on the basis of simplied approaches. The contribution of the electronically excited states has been evidenced by comparing results obtained considering only the ground state and those obtained using either Fermi or Griem cuto criteria.