Molecular beam scattering experiments on the reaction K + RbCl: Absolute angular distributions and integral cross sections

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Abstract
The angular distributions of the reactive and nonreactive scattering for the system K + RbCl have been restudied in a molecular beam experiment. By absolutely measuring all the primary data, it was possible to obtain the absolute cross section for complex formation (σc = 124±21 Å2, ETrans = 0.18 eV) and the probabilities for reactive (Γr = 0.34±0.05; σr = 42±9 Å2) and nonreactive decay (Γn = 0.66±0.05; σn = 82±18 Å2) of the complex. The branching ratio Γ≡Γr/Γn = 0.52±0.11 agrees with previous experimental work and disagrees with theory. An error was found in the analysis of the earlier experiments. Both the formation of the complex and the energy disposal are now shown to be consistant with the ``loose'' complex model.