Effect of molecular anisotropy on beam scattering measurements

Within the energy sudden approximation, the total integral and total differential scattering cross sections are given by the angle average of scattering cross sections computed at fixed rotor orientations. Using this formalism the effect of molecular anisotropy on scattering of He by HCl and by CO is examined. Comparisons with accurate close coupling calculations indicate that this approximation is quite reliable, even at very low collision energies, for both of these systems. Comparisons are also made with predictions based on the spherical average of the interaction. For HCl the anisotropy is rather weak and its main effect is a slight quenching of the oscillations in the differential cross sections relative to predictions of the spherical averaged potential. For CO the anisotropy is much stronger, so that the oscillatory pattern is strongly quenched and somewhat shifted. It appears that the sudden approximation provides a simple yet accurate method for describing the effect of molecular anisotropy on scattering measurements.