▪ Abstract Laser and molecular beam techniques have enabled researchers to determine the
rovibrational levels populated in collision-induced electronic transitions from specified initial
levels of several diatomic molecules. As exemplified by the N2+–and CN–rare-gas systems,
such measurements, in combination with theoretical calculations of cross sections for these
state-to-state collisional processes, provide a means to understand in detail the dynamics of
these electronic quenching and energy transfer processes. The present article reviews state …