State-to-state chemical reaction dynamics in polyatomic systems: Case studies

This review illustrates the experimental study of chemical reaction dynamic s using methods that select the quantum states and energy of the reactants and determine the quantum states and energy of the products. The focus is r eaction dynamics in systems in which at least one of the reactants or produ cts is a polyatomic molecule. The approach taken is to select four prototyp e reaction systems as case studies to demonstrate the detail of information and insight that can come from such experiments. Thus, the review is selec tive and neither claims nor attempts to be comprehensive. Reference to and discussion of theoretical reaction dynamics are included where computationa l results directly connect with the experiments.