Experimental investigation of chemical reactions with full quantum state resolution for all reactants and products has been a long-term challenge. Here we prepare an ultracold few-body quantum state of reactants and demonstrate state-to-state chemistry for the recombination of three spin-polarized ultracold rubidium (Rb) atoms to form a weakly bound Rb molecule. The measured product distribution covers about 90% of the final products, and we are able to discriminate between product states with a level splitting as small as 20 megahertz multiplied by Planck's constant. Furthermore, we formulate propensity rules for the distribution of products, and we develop a theoretical model that predicts many of our experimental observations. The scheme can readily be adapted to other species and opens a door to detailed investigations of inelastic or reactive processes.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aan8721 | DOI Listing |
J Chem Phys
January 2025
Department of Chemistry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada.
We present an algorithm that combines quantum scattering calculations with probabilistic machine-learning models to predict quantum dynamics rate coefficients for a large number of state-to-state transitions in molecule-molecule collisions much faster than with direct solutions of the Schrödinger equation. By utilizing the predictive power of Gaussian process regression with kernels, optimized to make accurate predictions outside of the input parameter space, the present strategy reduces the computational cost by about 75%, with an accuracy within 5%. Our method uses temperature dependences of rate coefficients for transitions from the isolated states of initial rotational angular momentum j, determined via explicit calculations, to predict the temperature dependences of rate coefficients for other values of j.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Phys Chem A
January 2025
Univ Rennes, CNRS, IPR (Institut de Physique de Rennes)─UMR 6251, F-35000 Rennes, France.
Chloronium (HCl) is an important intermediate of Cl-chemistry in space. The accurate knowledge of its collisional properties allows a better interpretation of the corresponding observations in interstellar clouds and, therefore, a better estimation of its abundance in these environments. While the ro-vibrational spectroscopy of HCl is well-known, the studies of its collisional excitation are rather limited and these are available for the interaction with helium atoms only.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhys Chem Chem Phys
January 2025
Department of Chemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
We present state-to-state differential cross sections for rotationally inelastic collisions of vibrationally excited NO XΠ ( = 9) with Ar using a near-counterpropagating molecular beam geometry. These were obtained using the stimulated emission pumping technique coupled with velocity map imaging. Collision energies well over ∼1 eV were achieved and rotational excitations up to ∼Δ = 60 recorded for the first time for inelastic collisions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhys Chem Chem Phys
December 2024
School of Chemistry, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad 500 046, India.
The hydrogen exchange reaction, H + H → H + H, along with its isotopic variants, has been the cornerstone for the development of new and novel dynamical mechanisms of gas-phase bimolecular reactions since the 1930s. The dynamics of this reaction are theoretically investigated in this work to elucidate the effect of reagent vibrational excitation on differential cross sections (DCSs) in a nonadiabatic situation. The dynamical calculations are carried out using a time-dependent quantum mechanical method, both on the lower adiabatic potential energy surface and employing a two-state coupled diabatic theoretical model to explicitly include all the nonadiabatic couplings present in the 1E' ground electronic manifold of the H system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Phys Chem A
December 2024
Department of Chemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States.
State-to-state spin-orbit changing collisions of vibrationally excited nitric oxide (NO) with argon (Ar) were studied across a wide collision energy range from 3.5 to 11,200 cm (0.43 meV to 1.
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