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Cold molecular collisions

Same object, different symmetry

Cold collisions between hydrogen molecules and helium atoms reveal how the change from spherical to non-spherical symmetry creates a quantum scattering resonance.

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Figure 1: Collisions between He* atoms and H2 molecules are governed by the interaction potential, which depends on the particles' rotational states.

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Correspondence to Roland Wester.

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Wester, R. Same object, different symmetry. Nat. Phys. 14, 113–114 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys3944

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