Unitary transition probabilities for atom-atomic oscillator collisions

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Abstract
A unitary treatment, based on the work of Cabrera, Celli, Goodman, and Manson [Surface Sci. 19, 67 (1970)], of multiple quantum transition probabilities for the collision of an atom with an atomic oscillator is studied. The theory is applied to the collision of helium with a tungstenatomic oscillator and compared with both exact quantum results and semiclassical results. It is shown that multiple quantum transitions have appreciable magnitude and cannot be ignored in calculating the thermal accommodation coefficients.