Atomic and Molecular Collision Theory

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-viii

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2. Collisions Involving Electrons and Photons

   1. Front Matter

      Pages ix-ix

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   2. Electron and Photon Collisions with Atoms and Ions

      • C. J. Joachain

      Pages 1-67

   3. Electron and Photon Collisions with Molecules

      • P. G. Burke

      Pages 69-122

   4. Recombination Processes in Atomic and Molecular Physics

      • J. N. Bardsley

      Pages 123-164

   5. Charge Exchange and Ionization in Ion-Atom Collisions

      • Ronald McCarroll

      Pages 165-231

   6. Atoms In Astrophysical Plasmas

      • Henri Van Regeraorter

      Pages 233-275

3. Collisions of Atoms and Molecules

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 277-277

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   2. Low Energy Atom-Atom Collisions

      • M. S. Child

      Pages 279-314

   3. Internal Energy Transfers in Molecular Collisions

      • Franco A. Gianturco

      Pages 315-392

   4. Chemical Photophysics

      • R. D. Levine

      Pages 393-427

4. Collisions Under Special Conditions

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 429-429

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   2. Collisions of Charged Particles with Highly Excited Atoms

      • Ian C. Percival

      Pages 431-460

   3. Electron-Atom Scattering in the Field of a Laser

      • Marvin H. Mittleman

      Pages 461-488

5. Back Matter

   Pages 489-505

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Until recently, the field of atomic and molecular collisions was left to a handful of practitioners who essentially explored it as a branch of atomic physics and gathered their experimental re­ sults mainly from spectroscopy measurements in bulk. But in the past ten years or so, all of this has dramatically changed, and we are now witnessing the rapid growth of a large body of research that encompasses the simplest atoms as well as the largest mole­ cules, that looks at a wide variety of phenomena well outside purely spectroscopic observation, and that finds applications in an unexpectedly broad range of physico-chemical and physical pro­ cesses. The latter are in turn surprisingly close to very important sectors of applied research, such as the modeling of molecular lasers, the study of isotope separation techniques, and the energy losses in confined plasmas, to mention just a few of them. As a consequence of this healthy state of affairs, greatly diversified research pathways have developed; however, their specialized problems are increasingly at risk of being viewed in isolation, although they are part of a major and extended branch of physics or chemistry. This is particularly true when it comes to the theory of this work -- where well-established methods and models of one subfield are practically unknown to researchers in other subfields -- and, consequently, the danger of wasteful duplication arising is quite real.

• collision
• excited atoms
• molecule
• particles
• scattering

• Istituto di Chimica Fisica, Cittá Universitaria, Rome, Italy

  Franco A. Gianturco

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