Energy transfer and reactions of highly excited polyatomic molecules

The recent advances on energy transfer and reactions of highly excited polyatomic molecules are analysed. The possibilities of spectroscopic registration of non-equilibrium energy dictributions are illustrated. Various models of inter- and intra-molecular energy exchange are considered, as well as reactions of highly excited polyatomic molecules (spontaneous unimolecular decay and bimolecular interaction). Emission diagnostics of highly excited states of polyatomic molecules, especially with Furrier-transformation, is shown to be among the most promising diagnostic tools to observe experimentally the population distributions of HES in the course of chemical reactions.