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Updated: Apr 18, 2026

Methods for Measuring the Orientation and Rotation Rate of 3D-printed Particles in Turbulence
Published on: June 24, 2016
Atom-diatom scattering dynamics of spinning molecules
C J Eyles1, J Floss2, I Sh Averbukh2
1Institut für Chemie und Biochemie, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
Abstract:
We present full quantum mechanical scattering calculations using spinning molecules as target states for nuclear spin selective atom-diatom scattering of reactive D+H2 and F+H2 collisions. Molecules can be forced to rotate uni-directionally by chiral trains of short, non-resonant laser pulses, with different nuclear spin isomers rotating in opposite directions. The calculations we present are based on rotational wavepackets that can be created in this manner. As our simulations show, target molecules with opposite sense of rotation are predominantly scattered in opposite directions, opening routes for spatially and quantum state selective scattering of close chemical species. Moreover, two-dimensional state resolved differential cross sections reveal detailed information about the scattering mechanisms, which can be explained to a large degree by a classical vector model for scattering with spinning molecules.
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