Fully State-Resolved Differential Cross Sections for the Inelastic Scattering of the Open-Shell NO Molecule by Ar
Hiroshi Kohguchi,1
Toshinori Suzuki,12*
Millard H. Alexander3
State-resolved differential cross sections (DCSs) for the inelastic
scattering of NO(j" = 0.5, 
" = 1/2) + Ar 
NO(j', ' = 1/2, 3/2) + Ar were obtained at a
collision energy of 516 cm
1, both experimentally and
theoretically. A crossed molecular beam ion-imaging apparatus was used
to measure DCSs for 20 final (j', ') states,
including spin-orbit conserving (
= 0) and changing ( = 1) transitions. Quantum close-coupling scattering
calculations on ab initio coupled-cluster CCSD(T) and CEPA
(correlated electron pair approximation) potential energy surfaces were
also performed. Although small discrepancies were found for the
= 1 transitions, we find marked agreement between theory
and experiment for the collision dynamics of this system, which is the
paradigm for the collisional relaxation of a molecular radical.
1 Institute for Molecular Science and Graduate
University for Advanced Studies, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan.
2 PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Corporation,
Japan.
3 Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry,
University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-2021, USA.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
suzuki{at}ims.ac.jp
