A theory of slow-atom collisions

A general theory of slow-atom collisions is presented with special emphasis on the effects of nuclear statistics and atomic fine and/or hyperfine structures. Symmetry properties of the collision complex and correlations between the molecular states and the separated-atom states are carefully examined. The frame transformations between various angular momentum coupling schemes are derived, which, in combination with the multichannel quantum defect theory (MQDT), provides a solid foundation for the computation and the physical interpretation of slow-atom collision process. The theory reduces to those of Stoof et. al