Theory of Chemical Reaction Dynamics

Theoretical treatment of the dynamics of chemical reactions has undergone a sp- tacular development during the last few years, prompted by the progress in experiments. Beam production,spectroscopicdetectionusinghighresolution,polarizedlasersallowing energy and angular momentum selection, etc. have advanced so much that the expe- ments now offer detailed scattering information for theory to explain and rationalize. At the same time advancesin computingand networkingtechnologiesfor heteregeneousand grid environments are giving new possibilities for theoretical studies of chemical react- ity. As a consequence, by now calculation of atom+diatom reactions has become routine, accurate methods have been developed to describe reactions in tetraatomic systems, n- adiabatic reactions are being studied in simultaneousexperimentaland theoretical efforts, andstatistical theoriesofunimolecularreactiondynamicsare appliedto systemsthatwere a mystery a few years ago. The increased interest in the ?eld is testi?ed by an intense activity of conferences, schools and collaborative networks. The NATO scienti?c division has traditionally c- tributed to this ?eld through supporting workshops and schools. Along this line we - ganized the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on the Theory of the Dynamics of Chemical Reactionsin Balatonfol ¨ dvar ´ ,Hungaryin June, 2003. The workshophasgiven a snapshot of the current status of research in reaction dynamics. At the meeting 36 papers were presentedfollowedby enlighteningdiscussions. Accuratetime-dependentandti- independentmethodsofquantumscattering, treatmentof non-adiabaticprocesses, studies of associative and inelastic collisions, calculation of potential surfaces received increased attention.