Differential Cross Sections for the Excitation of Single Rotational Quantum Transitions: HD + Ne

Differential cross sections for the rotational excitation from $j=0$ to $j=1$ of HD molecules in collisions with Ne atoms have been measured in a crossed molecular beam experiment. The inelasticity is obtained by time-of-flight analysis of the scattered particles using the pseudorandom chopper method. The measured cross sections of 0.31 to 0.45 ²/sr at energies of about 30 meV and angles between 40^∘{} and 80^∘{} prove very sensitive to the angle-dependent part of the interaction potential as shown by a comparison with calculated data.