On the energy distribution of final products in molecular collisions

✍ Scribed by R.D. Levine; F.A. Wolf; J.A. Maus

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1971
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 415 KB
• Volume: 10
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0009-2614
• DOI: 10.1016/0009-2614(71)80141-0

✦ Synopsis

An optical model analyti suggests that the cross section (for a .&en transition) is an increasing function of the final (kinetic) energy. The energy distribution is derived on the basis of the kinematical restrictions in the fml channel As an eXam+, il statistical approximation for the faction H-+ 02 is considered.

i. latroduction

Recently there has been considerable experimental interest in the energy distriiiution of final products in molecular collisions [l-3] _ Such experiments provide considerable additional insight into the collision dynamics and have already stimulated some theoretical studies [4,5]. Moreover, such studies have an important bearing on the feasibility of population inversion and latig action by chemical means.

Using a statistical approximation [6], Maus and Wolf [4] have recently conchded that for the ionmolecule reaction of H' + 02, the cross section is an increasing function of the fiial kinetic energy. In this note we consider the general validity of this feature.

An optical model analysis is presented in section 2. The discussion is based on the fmal (kinetic) energy dependence of the opacity fkction.

In a simplistic. analysis this dependence can be analyzed in terms of the kinematical restrictions in the final channel. These