Polar molecule reactive collisions in quasi-1D systems

TL;DR

This paper investigates how polar molecules collide in quasi-one-dimensional setups, analyzing how electric fields and confinement influence elastic and reactive collision rates, with implications for experimental control of molecular interactions.

Contribution

It provides a detailed numerical analysis of collision rates in quasi-1D systems, interpreting results through scattering models and discussing universal dipolar scattering effects.

Findings

Collision rates depend on energy and dipole moment

Confinement influences elastic and reactive collisions

Universal dipolar scattering regimes are identified

Abstract

We study polar molecule scattering in quasi-one-dimensional geometries. Elastic and reactive collision rates are computed as a function of collision energy and electric dipole moment for different confinement strengths. The numerical results are interpreted in terms of first order scattering and of adiabatic models. Universal dipolar scattering is also discussed. Our results are relevant to experiments where control of the collision dynamics through one dimensional confinement and an applied electric field is envisioned.