Space-fixed vs body-fixed axes in atom-diatomic molecule scattering. Sudden approximations

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Abstract
The Arthurs and Dalgarno space‐fixed (SF) axes formulation of the quantum theory of atom‐diatom scattering is compared with the body‐fixed (BF) axes formulation of Curtiss using consistent notation to facilitate the comparison. While equivalent, the two theories are not always equally convenient. When rotation is treated in a sudden approximation, the BF formulation has a tremendous conceptual and computational advantage: It allows an infinite‐order sudden approximation, independent of the form of the potential energy, which should be very helpful in vibrationally inelastic and reactive scattering problems. Also, a rapid procedure for calculating WKB phase shifts is presented.