Inelastic scattering of vibrationally excited KBr by small nonpolar and essentially nonpolar partners

Scattering intensities as functions of angle and velocity, for the interaction of highly vibrationally excited potassium bromide with neon, argon, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide under molecular beam conditions, are reported. Long range attractive forces are of relatively little importance in these systems; energy transfer proceeds through essentially impulsive interactions. Inelastic collisions transferring large amounts of vibrational energy into translation occur with cross sections on the order of 20A(2). Effects due to competition between V -> V and V -> T processes are clearly present in some systems.