Three-Atom Chemistry (Informal Seminar)

A remarkably wide range of chemical phenomena can be studied in three-atom systems. Fundamental chemical processes including atom exchange and collisional vibrational or rotational excitation appear
only in systems with three or more atoms, and they can be examined most simply in triatomic systems. The talk will present a sampling of the speaker's work in three-atom dynamics. Studies of rotational energy transfer, electronic quenching, bimolecular chemical reactions, and photodissociation will be described. In each case insights have been gained from comparisons between experimental results and
computational models. The experiments range from simple kinetics of reactant disappearance to highly detailed, state- and angle-resolved measurements. Theoretical models include classical, surface hopping,
and quantum approaches.