Symmetry considerations in the quantum treatment of collisions between two diatomic molecules

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Abstract
To provide the necessary formal framework for future quantum studies of collisions between identical diatomic molecules, we give a detailed discussion of the correct treatment of parity and interchange symmetry within both the space‐fixed and body‐fixed formulation of the collision dynamics. The present development consolidates the various incomplete descriptions of this subject which have appeared in the literature as well as explicitly including the vibrational degrees of freedom. Additionally, the analysis is extended to include the effective potential, decoupled l‐dominant and coupled states decoupling approximations. The degree of dimensionality reduction attainable is illustrated numerically.