Theory of vibrational energy exchange in adsorbed polyatomic molecules

Using an effective mass hamiltonian approach developed in studies of energy transfer in molecular collisions, we derive a simple theory of vibrational energy exchange in adsorbed polyatomic molecules. As an application, the vibrational relaxation of CH3Cl and CD3Cl adsorbed on solid Ar is discussed, and the most important accepting modes in the energy relaxation of the ν4 mode are predicted. Possibilities to study the problem experimentally are also discussed briefly.