I MIXING AND DISSOCIATION OF RYDBERG MOLECULES ACCOMPANYING SLOW COLLISIONS WITH INERT-GAS ATOMS

Processes involving a change of orbital angular momentum I and the dis sociation of Rydberg molecules when they collide with inert-gas atoms are considered, using a method based on analyzing the terms of the int eracting systems. The proposed method makes it possible to take into a ccount the perturbations in a large group of Rydberg states that weakl y penetrate into the ion core and to go beyond the limits of the two-l evel approximations [R. F. Stebbings and F, B. Dunning, eds., Rydberg States of Atoms and Molecules (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1983; Mir, Moscow, 1985)] widely used in the theory of I mixing with t he participation of Rydberg atoms. Using the Na*(nd) + Xe reaction as an example, it is demonstrated that this method gives good results in a wide range of variation of the principal quantum number it of the R ydberg electron (n approximate to 10-40). Features of the I mixing and dissociation of Rydberg molecules are studied for the H-2* + Xe syst em. It is shown that collisional dissociation occurs by the formation of an intermediate Rydberg state of the molecules, followed by self-de cay into a dissociative continuum. (C) 1998 American Institute of Phys ics.