ON THE VALIDITY OF THE TIME-DEPENDENT SELF-CONSISTENT-FIELD APPROACH - APPLICATION TO THE VIBRATIONAL PREDISSOCIATION OF CL-2-NE

The validity of the time-dependent self-consistent-field (TDSCF) appro ach assuming partial factorization of the wave packet is investigated. The TDSCF scheme is applied to a three-dimensional model of the Cl-2- Ne vibrational predissociation, where only the bending mode is explici tly separated. The results are tested against previous exact and nearl y exact calculations. A good agreement is found for the calculated pre dissociation lifetimes, but the method fails in the dynamical descript ion of the factorized degree of freedom. The applicability and limitat ions of the approach are discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.