Determination of Intermolecular Potentials by the Inversion of Molecular Beam Scattering Data. I. The Inversion Procedure

Abstract

A practical solution of the inversion problem within the realms of the WKB approximation is reported. The basic input information is only the measured relative differential cross section, from which the WKB phase function or the classical deflection function is constructed. The absolute potential curve is then determined by the application of a modified Firsov method. The problem of which part of the differential cross section is readily measurable and also suitable for the inversion procedure is studied. A practical procedure is proposed and tested by using a simulated example.