State specific energy transfer studies are a fundamental means of investigating collisions. Our goal has been to develop models based on physical parameters and to subject these models to rigorous experimental tests. This has been historically difficult because of the fundamental complexity of the problem and the nature of the required experiments. Because collisional phenomena are so dependent on collision energy, experimental observables are often steep functions of temperature. Here we will briefly describe some of our most recent results.
Earlier work is referenced above.
Select, Additional work, much of it studies of spherical tops and other light species by means of IR - IR double resonance, for more information. However, in a subsequent study of CH 3 Cl it was found that the experimental signature, two examples of which are shown in Fig. C.3.c-1, was more complex and a function of both the K of the probed state and the energy of the pumped state. In this context, the data in the 300 K row of the figure are straightforward to understand. For the lower energy 9P26 pump, the initial energy transfer favors the low energy states shown which are more strongly populated by a colder Boltzmann distribution over higher energy states.