On the semiclassical theory of inelastic,atom-molecular collisions

A general semiclassical theory of energy exchange in the three-dimensional collisions between an atom and a diatomic molecule is formulated. The interaction in the time-dependent Schrödinger equation, giving rise to inelastic transitions, is defined in terms of the exact classical trajectories of the colliding particles. These trajectories were specified by the condition, that the molecule was not vibrating before the collision. It is shown, that such approach gives the results coinciding in a number of cases with those obtained with the help of the exact quantum-mechanical methods. The results obtained for the particular case of the impulsive atom-molecular collisions were used for the interpretation of new phenomena observed in the experiments on the dissociation of some molecular ions in the collisions with the neutral helium atoms.