The role of orbiting collisions in vibrational energy transfer

Using a simple model of molecular collisions under a spherically symmetric interaction, it is shown that orbiting collisions can make very large contributions to the inelastic cross sections of non-resonant processes. Calculations for the system HX + CO₂(001) → HX(υ=1) + CO₂(000), where X = F, Cl, I show good agreement with experimental results.