Rotational excitation in H2–H2 collisions: Close-coupling calculations

Rotational excitation in molecule−molecule collisions has been treated for the first time by accurate quantum close−coupling scattering calculations, employing an expansion basis set of two to three rotational levels for each molecule and correctly accounting for exchange of identical particles. Elastic and inelastic cross sections have been computed for collisions of para−para, ortho−ortho, and para−ortho hydrogen molecules assuming an intermolecular potential suggested previously. The accuracy of recent ’’effective potential’’ calculations is demonstrated by comparison with the exact quantum results.