Asymmetry of inelastic scattering of atoms in a magnetic field

It is shown that transitions induced by a constant magnetic field between the terms of a quasi-molecule formed during slow collisions of atoms lead to a breakdown of the axial symmetry of scattering. As a result of interference of the transition amplitudes under the action of a field and the Coriolis interaction an asymmetry effect linear in field arises which manifests itself in the different scattering intensity to the right and to the left of the plane constructed from the vectors of the field and the initial relative velocity. The differential scattering cross sections of atoms of the alkali metals in a magnetic field are estimated under quasi-resonant transfer of the excitation