A threshold study of the classical dynamics of collision-induced dissociation in collinear H+H2.

In this paper we report the results of a classical trajectory study of collinear H+H2 on the PK2 surface at fixed total energies slightly above the dissociation threshold. Two energies, 4.85 and 5.00 eV, were investigated. The method of Andrews and Chesnavich was used to resolve the reagents phase space into nonreactive, reactive, and dissociative regions. A striking feature of the phase space banding structure is that it is remarkably simple. Also, all trajectories exhibit regular and smooth behavior with respect to changes in initial condition. No evidence was found of either periodic trajectories or of ‘‘snarled’’ trajectories. Some general properties of the dynamics are discussed, including a suggested explanation as to why all trajectories in one of the reactive bands cross the symmetric stretch line three times. Some suggestions for future work, including model studies which could provide information on phase space banding in three-dimensional systems, are also given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]