Modeling the Intermolecular Interactions and Characterization of the Dynamics of Collisional Autoionization Processes

The autoionization dynamics of triatomic molecules induced by He*(23,1S1,0) and Ne*(3P2,0) collisions has been discussed. The systems are analyzed by using an optical potential model within a semiclassical approach. The real part of the potential is formulated applying a semiempirical method, while the imaginary part has been used in the fitting procedure of the data adjusting its pre-exponential factor. The good agreement between calculations and experiment confirms the attractive nature of the potential energy surface driving the He* and Ne*-H2O dynamics.