Energy transfer in classical collinear and perpendicular central collisions of a structureless atom with a morse oscillator

Abstract

The energy transfer in classical collinear (C ∞) and perpendicular (C 2v) central collisions of an atom with a Morse oscillator is compared. These collision geometries contribute in classical collisions to experimentally observed inelastic backward scattering of alkali ions from H 2 molecules. For both collision geometries the equations of motion reduce to a set of only two coupled differential equations which can be easily solved numerically. The calculations show that the C 2v collisions are much more effective than C ∞ collisions at all but the very lowest energies. The calculated Δ E/ E versus E curves for C 2v collisions using a Born-Mayer potential for the atom atom-in-molecule interaction could be fitted to the experimental results for Na +-D 2 yielding reasonable potential values.