F+H2 COLLISIONS ON 2 ELECTRONIC POTENTIAL-ENERGY SURFACES - QUANTUM-MECHANICAL STUDY OF THE COLLINEAR REACTION

Collinear quantum calculations are carried out for reactive F+H2 collisions on two electronic potential energy surfaces. The resulting transmission and reflection probabilities exhibit much greater variation with energy than single-surface studies would lead us to anticipate. Transmission to low-lying product channels is increased by orders of magnitude by the presence of the second surface; however, branching ratios among product states are found to be independent of the initial electronic state of the reactants. These apparently contradictory aspects of the calculation are discussed and a tentative explanation put forward to resolve them. © 1979, American Institute of Physics. All rights reserved.