https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2004-00116-1
Features of chemical reactions at vanishing kinetic energy: the presence of internally “hot” reagents
Department of Chemistry and INFM, The University of Rome “La
Sapienza”, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Corresponding author: a fa.gianturco@caspur.it
Received:
15
June
2004
Published online:
7
September
2004
The reactions between vibrationally and rotationally excited 
and 
molecules and the 
atom are analyzed
at ultra-low collision energies using the Coupled Channels quantum
approach. The aim of this work is to compare the relative efficiency
of the reactive scattering event with that of the vibrational or rotational
quenching process in the ultra-cold temperature regime in order to
establish general trends, possibly amenable to experiments on this
or on more complex systems. We have already compared the rotational
de-excitation efficiency with the reactive one in the 
reaction [CITE] and we have seen in that case that rotational
de-excitation is more efficient than reaction when going down to ultra-low
energies. We are investigating here the vibrational excitation case
when the internal energy of the molecule becomes large enough to be
above the classical barrier, and we are also presenting new results
for the rotationally hot partner. We find that,
with vibrationally “hot” molecules, the reaction becomes more
efficient than the relaxation process, while the relative efficiency
of such processes when having rotationally hot molecular partners
is much more system-dependent.
PACS: 34.10.+x – General theories and models of atomic and molecular collisions and interactions (including statistical theories, transition state, stochastic and trajectory models, etc.) / 34.50.Lf – Chemical reactions, energy disposal, and angular distribution, as studied by atomic and molecular beams / 34.20.Mq – Potential energy surfaces for collisions
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag, 2004
