Knowledge Bank

We are developing a multichannel quantum defect formulation to describe the collision of a Rydberg or continuum electron with a vibrating and rotating polyatomic $inon.1$ We formulate a full rovibronic frame transformation which accounts simultaneously for vibrationally and rotationally inelastic collisions (preionization) and $\ell$ uncoupling. Interactions among degenerate Rydberg series, arising from Jahn-Teller distortions of molecular geometry, play an important role in the formulation. As application to the $1s23sA1\prime \to 1s2ϵpA2\prime \prime ,ϵpE\prime$ Rydberg photoabsorption spectrum of $H3$ accounts for many of its observed $features.2$