The dynamics of the D-2 + OH -> HOD plus D reaction: A combined theoretical and experimental study

A combined theoretical and experimental study has been carried out to show the current status of comparison between experiment and theory on the title reaction. Differential cross sections and product relative translational energy distributions at collision energies of 0.25 and 0.34 eV, as well as the collision energy dependence of differential cross section in the backward direction have been measured by using crossed molecular beam experiment with D-atom Rydberg tagging technique. Theoretically, the time-dependent wave packet method has been employed to calculate state-to-state differential cross sections for the title reaction in full dimension. It is found that the experimental observations are in good accord with those of Davis and coworkers at the collision energy of 0.28 eV [Science, 290, 958 (2000)]. The overall agreement between theory and experiment on this benchmark four-atom reaction is good, but not perfect. Further studies, both theoretical and experimental, are called to bring a complete agreement between theory and experiment on the reaction.