Interactions and dynamics in Li + Li 2 ultracold collisions

A potential energy surface for the lowest quartet electronic state ( A ′ 4 ) of lithium trimer is developed and used to study spin-polarized Li + Li 2 collisions at ultralow kinetic energies. The potential energy surface allows barrierless atom exchange reactions. Elastic and inelastic cross section...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of chemical physics 2007-08, Vol.127 (7), p.074302-074302-19
Main Authors: Cvitaš, Marko T., Soldán, Pavel, Hutson, Jeremy M., Honvault, Pascal, Launay, Jean-Michel
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A potential energy surface for the lowest quartet electronic state ( A ′ 4 ) of lithium trimer is developed and used to study spin-polarized Li + Li 2 collisions at ultralow kinetic energies. The potential energy surface allows barrierless atom exchange reactions. Elastic and inelastic cross sections are calculated for collisions involving a variety of rovibrational states of Li 2 . Inelastic collisions are responsible for trap loss in molecule production experiments. Isotope effects and the sensitivity of the results to details of the potential energy surface are investigated. It is found that for vibrationally excited states, the cross sections are only quite weakly dependent on details of the potential energy surface.
ISSN:0021-9606
1089-7690
DOI:10.1063/1.2752162