Abstract
We report rotationally inelastic transition probabilities for N2 scattered from a rigid, flat as well as a weakly corrugated Ag surface. For this system Sitz, Kummel, and Zare [J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 5, 513 (1987)] have recently measured the population state distribution and the quadrupole and hexadecapole alignment of the rotational angular momentum vector with respect to the surface normal. These alignment ratios are directly proportional to the coefficients in a Legendre expansion of the classical angular momentum spatial distribution function. Quantum mechanical expressions for this distribution function in terms of state multipoles of the density operator are presented, and then the classical limit is obtained by introducing asymptotic expressions for the vector coupling coefficients which appear in them. The effect of lattice symmetry on the collisional reorientation of the incident rotational angular momentum vector is investigated through close-coupled scattering calculations based on a model interaction potential. Specular scattering is dominated by ΔM selection rules. The alignment of the rotational angular momentum vectors is analyzed in terms of these selection rules and the azimuthal dependence of the interaction potential.
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