ABSTRACT
Reactive scattering is one of a number of gas-phase phenomena included in the field of molecular collision dynamics, which is the study of the molecular mechanism of elementary physical and chemical rate processes. Other such dynamical processes include photodissociation, vibrational and rotational energy transfer, electronic quenching, unimolecular decay, reactions within weakly bound complexes and gas-surface interactions. The object of studying the dynamics of these processes is to gain an understanding of the behaviour of a system at the molecular level. We would like to unravel the forces exerted on the nuclei, as described by the potential energy surface (PES) of interaction, during the collisional encounter. We also wish to learn whether the system has jumped to another PES through an electronically non-adiabatic transition. In this section, techniques appropriate to the study of the dynamics of chemical reactions are emphasized. However, these techniques are generally applicable to the study of a variety of gas-phase collisional processes.
