Wavepacket calculations on ion-molecule reactions: the co-planar approximation

Reaction and charge transfer cross sections, σν′ ←00 (E), have been calculated for the non-adiabatic D+ + H2 reaction using a semiclassical coupled wavepacket technique. The calculations are performed utilizing the co-planar approximation which in hyperspherical coordinates means the neglect of Coriolis coupling terms responsible for the rotation of the collision frame. This approximation simplifies the problem considerably. The results obtained indicate, however, that the approximation may be inaccurate for the D+ + H2 system.