Triatomic dissociative recombination theory: Jahn–Teller coupling among infinitely many Born–Oppenheimer surfaces

Abstract

The coupling of many Rydberg surfaces poses a stringent challenge for theoretical description. Yet simplifications arise because quantum defect ideas can be applied, which circumvents some of the usual difficulties that arise. We describe a theoretical technique capable of handling these complex interactions, which has already been applied with success to the dynamics of H₃ Rydberg states. The extensions necessary to treat the other isotopomers H₂D⁺ and HD₂⁺ are then discussed, along with a preliminary application.