Dependence of the Probabilities of Vibrational De-Excitation on Interaction Potentials

Using the WKB semiclassical approximation, the dependence of the probability of vibrational de-excittion on the assumed form of the interaction potential is discussed. The asymptotic results show that the Morse and Lennard-Jones potentials have, respectively, two and three correction terms in the exponential part. The magnitudes of the correction terms are important compared to the leading term. The exact form of the leading term is also dependent upon the interaction potential.