OPTICAL POTENTIALS FOR NE-STAR(3P2,0)-AR, N-2 INTERACTIONS

The differential elastic cross sections for Ne*(3P2,0)-Ar and Ne*(3P2,0)-N2 collisions have been measured in crossed beam experiments at 0.064 and 0.318 and at 0.071 and 0.295 eV, collision energies, respectively. These results have been analyzed simultaneously with integral cross sections and total ionization cross sections already available and optical spherical potentials for these two systems have been obtained. These potentials appear to be rather accurate in the distance range from 2.5 to approximately 9 and from 3.0 to approximately 9 angstrom for Ne*-Ar and Ne*-N2, respectively. The well depths and equilibrium distances are 5.12 meV and 4.9 angstrom for Ne*-Ar and 3.56 meV and 5.40 angstrom for Ne*-N2. The short-range repulsion in both cases exhibits a change in slope which can be correlated with the influence, for the interaction at shorter distances, of the Ne+ core of the metastable atom, which becomes less effective when the intermolecular distance increases. The optical potentials proposed here are given in analytical form suitable for the calculation of dynamical observables of these systems.