Inversion of rotationally inelastic differential cross sections under sudden conditions

An inversion method for rotationally inelastic atom--diatom differential cross sections based on the infinite-order-sudden (IOS) approximation is presented. It consists of two separate steps: (1) The scattering phase shift, which is a function of the partial wave parameter l and the orientation angle γ, is determined by least-squares fitting of the reference cross sections. (2) For fixed orientation γ the R dependence of the interaction potential in obtained from the l dependence of the phase shift using the Firsov technique. This method is applicable in the so-called strong coupling case when rotational rainbow features are dominant and yields information about the anisotropy of the potential surface in the repulsive region. Because of the centrifugal sudden condition, scattering systems with deep potential wells cannot be treated by the present method. Test calculations are performed using theoretical IOS cross sections obtained from a realistic He--Na2 surface as reference data