Some key factors of energy distributions in the products of complex-forming elementary reactions

We review some conceptual and technical tools that help in the understanding of the global shape of energy distributions in the products of complex-forming three-atom reactions governed by long-range forces. The phase space theory (PST) of chemical reactions is simplified so as to arrive at an analytical expression of the recoil energy distribution in which two major factors of the dynamics appear explicitly. These factors are called the angular excitation rho(1)' and the diatomic inertial contribution rho(2)' for physical reasons that are detailed in the paper. In the case of strong angular excitations, a third quantity is shown to play a role, namely, the total angular momentum dependence of the reaction probability. We also propose a straightforward procedure for estimating the statistical energy partitioning in the context of the previous findings. In this regard, the procedure should help the experimentalist significantly in the search for some of the physical factors influencing his results.