A FURTHER TEST OF THE SHAPE AND ANISOTROPY OF THE F-H2 INTERACTION POTENTIAL

A recently proposed anisotropic potential model for the interaction of a fluorine atom with a hydrogen molecule treated as a rigid rotor is analysed by carrying out exact quantum calculations of elastic and rot ationally inelastic differential cross sections for comparison with pr eviously reported F-H-2 and newly measured F-D-2 state selected measur ements. The sensitivity of the cross sections to changes of the potent ial anisotropy and to isotopic substitution is examined. The results p rovide specific indications on the features of the best potential ener gy surface in terms of its average 'size' and its most likely anisotro py responsible for inelastic rotational excitations occuring at collis ion energies of about 85 meV.