Semiclassical study of reactive scattering in a laser field: F+H2+h/ω (1.06 μm) system

Semiclassical calculations of collinear F+H2(v=0) reactive and inelastic scattering in an Nd-glass laser field of various intensities have been carried out. The decoupling approximation developed for the Miller–George theory has been used for nonadiabatic transitions between the electronic-field surfaces. Special attention is paid to the choice of a proper coordinate system for applying the decoupling approximation. The total reaction probability and population ratio of the v=3 over v=2 vibrational state of HF increase suddenly as the field intensity increases beyond 10 TW/cm2. (It is suggested that for a three-dimensional system the threshold field intensity would be smaller.) Results also show that in a laser field the H2 molecule can be vibrationally excited while the F atom is electronically excited at the same time.