Theory of Molecular Collisions in the Presence of a Laser Field,
Abstract
The reaction dynamics and mechanism of energy transfer in a gas-phase molecular collision system can be dramatically affected by an intense, external laser field. A rigorous theoretical treatment must consider explicitly the interaction of the field with the collision dynamics, where the absorption (and emission) of radiation and the molecular collision are viewed as a single process rather than separate, independent processes. The full quantum mechanical formulation yields a set of coupled equations, where the number of equations corresponds to the number of asymptotic channels. A semiclassical formulation of the molecular dynamics involves the propagation of classical trajectories and their corresponding actions for nuclear motion on electronic-field potential surfaces, where each electronic-field surface depends on field-free, adiabatic electronic surfaces and radiative coupling. Transitions between electronic-field surfaces are effected by trajectories propagating through intersection points between the surfaces analytically continued into the complex plane.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1976
- Accession Number
- ADA052743
Entities
People
- I. Harold Zimmerman
- Jian-Min Yuan
- John R. Laing
- Thomas F. George
Organizations
- University of Rochester