Table of Contents
Index
Glossary
Table of Contents
Index
Glossary

   
Methods (m3)

• Compose a complex module Methods consisting of one or more constituent modules giving an account of the methods used in the research: Experimental methods and/or Numerical methods and/or Theoretical methods and, if necessary, provide a module summary of those constituent modules.

• If more than one of these types of tools (e.g. more than one experimental method was used) is used and if more than one of these tools is described in sufficient detail to warrant the distinction of a module that can be consulted separately, create a complex module Experimental methods containing constituent modules distinguished by their physics contents. The constituents can be components aggregating into the complete experimental tool, or focus on specific tools that are generalised in the complex module. If the different experimental methods are only summarised and further made available by means of links to other modules, present all of them in an elementary Experimental methods module.

• Provide a link representing the dependency relation in the problem-solving process labelled as `Is used for' to the module Raw data and/or Treated results and/or Interpretation giving results or interpretations based on these methods

Experimental methods (m3a)  
If experimental methods are used:

• Describe the experimental set-up (general scheme and specific instrumentation) used in this work, and give its restrictions with respect to the range, the precision and the stability. The specifications of a commercial apparatus for instance, can be included by a link (labelled `Specifications given in') to the manufacturer's documentation. In addition, describe the measurement procedure to generate experimental data using the set-up.

  Make sure that the module contains all information necessary to guarantee the reproducibility of the experiment.

• If more than a link to other modules (plus a short summary) is given, distinguish constituent modules that represent the components of the molecular beam experiment:

  1.

  Source; the source of the atom, molecule or ion beam(s).

  2.

  Selection; selection of the state of the beam particles, specifying the input parameters of the beam(s). Give the type of mechanical velocity selector or other velocity selection procedure. In addition, describe the beam collimators.

  3.

  Interaction; the interaction region between the particles in the two beams or between the beam particles and particles in a static gas, including a description of that static gas.

  4.

  Analysis; the analysis distinguishing between the different end products of the reaction, (e.g. fast ions and slows atoms).

  5.

  Detection; the detection of the beam before interaction and detection of the reaction products. Indicate the type of each detector in the set-up (e.g. hot wire, particle multiplier) and provide its characteristics (e.g. threshold values, slit function), preferably by means of a link to a module dedicated to that detector (labelled `Specifications given in/Is detailed in/Is focused in'). If applicable, also name the amplifier characteristics.

  If it is not possible to form self-contained constituent modules about these components, distinguish the components explicitly in the internal structure of the module Experimental methods.

Numerical methods (m3b)  
Although in the domain of experimental molecular simulations dynamics (e.g. Monte Carlo) are not customary, they can be used in the research and reported in the article. Numerical methods can also support the experiment (electronic data acquisition) and support calculations that cannot be performed entirely analytically (e.g. integrations). If numerical methods are used:

• Describe the computer hardware and software and the algorithms used in this work, and give their restrictions. In addition, describe the parameters and procedure that are used to generate the data using the numerical `tools'.

Theoretical methods (m3c)  
If theoretical methods are used:

• Summarise the models and theories from the `theoretical toolbox' used in this work, and their restrictions.

• Link this module to a mesoscopic or macroscopic  module containing a full account. If no adequate higher level module is available, link to a microscopic module with a full account. If no other module provides an adequate account of the theoretical methods, describe them in this module.

  This `toolbox' includes: scattering theory, the atom-atom model for molecular collisions, the Landau-Zener approximation;

The editorial board of a journal can make a `catalogue of the theoretical toolbox' available, by providing an index of the existing theories, models and approximations that are often used in the domain at hand, and specifying the modules in which they are properly described and discussed.

• A criterion for including information in the Theoretical methods module (rather than in the Interpretation module m5) is that the information in this module is independent of the results generated in this article. Calculations using the results of this article as input are considered to interpret the results and as such are made part of the Interpretation module. An existing model that you use for the interpretation of the results is part of the theoretical toolbox; include it in this module. On the other hand, if you have developed in the current article a new model for the purpose of explaining the results; present that in the Interpretation module.
• Report on the calculations performed with these theoretical tools to generate theoretical data, providing sufficient details for the reader to follow the calculations;
• If input parameters are used in the calculations, link them to their source by means of a linked typed as `Input from'.