COMPUTATIONAL STUDY OF THE LOCKING OF ELECTRONIC ANGULAR-MOMENTUM IN DIATOMIC QUASI-MOLECULES

A numerical study is performed for the locking of an electronic angula r momentum j = 1 to the molecular axis during a collision of two atoms interacting via potential proportional to an inverse power of interat omic distance, R. Limitations to the notion of the locking radius and slipping probability are discussed in connection with the steepness of the interaction governed by the exponent n. Numerical calculations co nfirm our earlier analytical result: the optimal criterion for determi nation of the locking radius is a condition for the accumulated phase difference between two molecular states. Analytical expressions are su ggested for the locking angle and the slipping probability. The implic ation of the locking approximation for calculation of the quasiclassic al scattering matrix is discussed.