Molecular Reorientation in Collisions between an Atom and a Diatomic Molecule

Abstract
Collisions between atoms and diatomic molecules that result in reorientation of the molecular rotation relative to a laboratory‐fixed frame are treated theoretically. An expression for the cross section in terms of elements of the scattering matrix is derived, and approximate numerical methods for calculation in a specific example, the low‐energy scattering of H2 by He, are discussed.