Classical rainbow scattering from anisotropic potentials

Using classical perturbation theory and the sudden approximation scattering is investigated in the rainbow region from potentials characteristic of atom-linear heteronuclear molecules. It is found that cusps in the cross section occur at the stationary values of the deflection function; these can be associated with stationary points in the potential surface. Other structures in the cross section can also be associated with certain features of the potential surface. Infinite-order sudden-type approximations have been investigated and they have been found generally unreliable. (author)