Phase-space theory comparison with experimental data

It is much harder to apply the theory to four-atom reactions, but two such applications have been published. No review of these treatments will be attempted here, but, instead, two questions will be raised. Is it possible to formulate criteria which must be satisfied if phase-space theory is to be considered applicable to a particular reaction Second, how well do the experimental data agree with theoretical prediction This comparison is felicitous, since often the theoretical treatment has preceded the experimental investigation. 

For the three-atom reactions, none of the exoergic processes is adequately described by the theory. A possible exception is reaction (iv), for which no quantitative treatment has been published this is needed. For the endoergic processes, encouraging agreement is indicated for reaction (xv), but the detailed information available from the phase-space calculation needs to be compared with Chupka s experimental data. Experimental data are needed for reactions (v), (xvi), and (xvii). Finally, the overall shapes of the excitation functions agree well for (xi) and (xiii), but there would appear to be a significantly different behavior for (vi) at and above the reaction threshold. The two studies of four-atom reactions offer encouragement, but substantial uncertainties remain as to the validity of these comparisons. 

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