QUASI-CLASSICAL TRAJECTORY SIMULATIONS OF THE COLLISIONAL DEACTIVATION OF VIBRATIONALLY EXCITED HGBR(B-2-SIGMA, NU=52) BY N-2

The collisional relaxation of HgBr(B (2) Sigma, v = 52) by N-2 has bee n studied using quasiclassical trajectory calculations. The transition probabilities show a single Gaussian behaviour. The results are analy sed according to the complexity of the collision, determined by the nu mber of turning points during the encounter. The transition probabilit ies for direct collisions can be fit to a single exponential, while co mplex collisions are represented by Gaussian functions. The vibration of N-2 is adiabatic during the energy transfer process but a significa nt fraction of the excitation energy is absorbed as rotational energy. Supercollisions do not seem to play any significant role in the relax ation process. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.