Elastic and rotationally inelastic differential cross sections for He+H2O collisions

Elastic and rotationally inelastic cross sections have been measured for He+H2O scattering at two collision energies, 66.3 and 99.0 meV, using the crossed molecular beam technique. The inelastic events are detected by time-of-flight analysis of the scattered He atoms. The data are converted to elastic differential cross sections and inelastic angular-dependent energy loss spectra in the center-of-mass system. They are compared with averaged, full close-coupling calculations of state-to-state cross sections for rotational excitation based on a newly calculated ab initio potential using symmetry-adapted perturbation theory. The agreement with the elastic differential cross sections is excellent. The energy loss spectra are reproduced satisfactorily and among the largest differential cross sections that contributed to the measurements are excitations around all three possible axes for DeltaJ = 1 but a preference of the excitation around the in-plane C axis for DeltaJ = 2 transitions. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.