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Title: Quantum defect description of H[sub 3] Rydberg state dynamics

Journal Article · · Physical Review Letters; (United States)
;  [1]
  1. Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics and Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309 (United States)

We develop a multichannel quantum defect formulation to describe the collision of a Rydberg or continuum electron with a vibrating and rotating polyatomic ion. We formulate a full rovibronic frame transformation which accounts simultaneously for vibrationally and rotationally inelastic collisions (preionization) and [ital l] uncoupling. Interactions among degenerate Rydberg series, arising from Jahn-Teller disortions of molecular geometry, play an important role in the formulation. An application to the 1[ital s][sup 2]3[ital sA][sub 1][sup [prime]][r arrow]1[ital s][sup 2][epsilon][ital pA][sub 2][sup [prime][prime]],[epsilon][ital pE][prime] Rydberg photoabsorption spectrum of H[sub 3] accounts for many of its observed features.

OSTI ID:
5002378
Journal Information:
Physical Review Letters; (United States), Vol. 72:11; ISSN 0031-9007
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English