Measurement of the cross section for H+D2→HD(v′=3,j′=0)+D as a function of angle and energy

Scattering of the HD(v'=3,j'=0) product from the H+D-2 reaction is measured as a function of angle and collision energy from 1.39 to 1.85 eV. The plot of the cross section vs angle and energy is believed to be the first fully experimental plot of its kind reported for this benchmark reaction. Changes in the differential cross section (DCS) are observed in this collision energy range, including a forward-scattering component that peaks at about 1.64 eV and is a strong function of collision energy. This feature has been assigned to result from a barrier resonance, but its full interpretation is presently unsettled. These changes in the DCS do not manifest themselves as variations in the integral cross section (ICS), which varies less than 25% over the energy range measured. Comparisons of the DCSs and the ICS with quantum mechanical calculations show quantitative agreement, although some aspects of the DCS near 1.54 eV are not fully satisfactory. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.