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Inelastic Scattering of NO by Kr: Rotational Polarization over a Rainbow
Helen Chadwick1, Bethan Nichols1, Sean D S Gordon1
1†The Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, The Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QZ, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
We use molecular beams and ion imaging to determine quantum state resolved angular distributions of NO radicals after inelastic collision with Kr. We also determine both the sense and the plane of rotation (the rotational orientation and alignment, respectively) of the scattered NO. By full selection and then detection of the quantum parity of the NO molecule, our experiment is uniquely sensitive to quantum interference. For forward-scattered NO, we report hitherto unseen changes in the plane and sense of rotation with scattering angle and show, remarkably, that the rotation of the NO molecule after collision can be near-maximally oriented for certain transitions and scattering angles. These effects are enhanced by the full parity selection in the experiment and result from the interplay between attractive and repulsive forces.
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