COLLINEAR COLLISIONS OF AN ATOM AND HARMONIC OSCILLATOR,
Abstract
A comparison is made between quantum, semiclassical, and classical treatments of collinear collisions, with exponential repulsive potential, between an atom and a harmonic oscillator. The quantum calculations used for comparison are those of Secrest and Johnson. The semiclassical treatment called ITFITS gives analytic transition probabilities in the form of a quantum forced-oscillator whose energy transfer is determined separately for each combination of initial and final states by a 'refined impulsive' classical approximation symmeterized over initial and final states. Detailed balance is obeyed. The classical treatment is phase-averaged; the energy transfer, calculated by numerical integration of the equations of motion, being averaged over the initial phase of the oscillator. It was concluded that, over the whole range of the quantum data, a semiclassical analysis is quite reasonable for transition probabilities and that both semiclassical and classical treatments give an essentially accurate description of average energy partitioning. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 14, 1970
- Accession Number
- AD0711107
Entities
People
- Donald Rapp
- Fred E. Heidrich
- Kent R. Wilson
Organizations
- University of California, San Diego