Effect of the anisotropy on the glory structure of molecule-molecule scattering cross sections

TL;DR

This paper investigates how anisotropy affects the glory interference pattern in molecule-molecule scattering, using ab initio calculations and experimental comparisons to reveal the pattern's sensitivity to anisotropic interactions.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the impact of anisotropy on molecular scattering cross sections and the glory structure, using high-level ab initio potentials and experimental data.

Findings

Computed cross sections are about 10% smaller than experimental values.

The glory pattern's extrema positions are highly sensitive to anisotropy.

Good agreement in extremum positions despite amplitude differences.

Abstract

Total (elastic + rotationally inelastic) integral cross sections are computed for O$_2(^3\Sigma_g^-)$-O$_2(^3\Sigma_g^-)$ using a recent ab initio potential energy surface. The sampled velocity range allows us a thorough comparison of the glory interference pattern observed in molecular beam experiments. The computed cross sections are about 10% smaller than the measured ones, however, a remarkable agreement in the velocity positions of the glory extrema is achieved. By comparing with models where the anisotropy of the interaction is reduced or removed, it is found that the glory pattern is very sensitive to the anisotropy, especially the positions of the glory extrema.