CONTRIBUTION TO THE THEORY OF INELASTIC MOLECULAR COLLISIONS

Abstract

The validity of the distorted wave (dw) approximation for the solution of the vibrational energy transfer problem is investigated. T HE BEHAVIOR OF THE TRANSITION PROBABILITY INTEGRAL IS SHOWN TO BE DETERMINED BY HE BEHAVIOR OF ITS INTEGRAL AT A SINGLE POINT. This critical point is used to obtain an exact solution of the transition probability with which the dw solution is compared. The dw solution is found to lie within 20% of the exact solution whenever the transition probability is less than roughly 0.6. The existence of the critical point leads to a simple expression for the transition probability in terms of an arbitrary interaction potential. The effects of adiabatic changes due to short range repulsive forces are investigated by means of the method of perturbed stationary states. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1959
Accession Number
AD0282841

Entities

People

  • Jerome Weinstock

Organizations

  • Cornell University

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Collisions
  • Energy
  • Energy Transfer
  • Integrals
  • Probability
  • Transitions

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Finite Element Method (FEM) for solving Partial Differential Equations (PDEs)
  • Molecular Photonics/Laser Physics
  • Statistical inference.