Restoring detailed balance in the Landau-Teller probabilities for collision-induced vibrational transitions.

The general quasi-classical treatment for collision-induced vibrational transitions in diatomic molecules, under near-adiabatic conditions, is used to derive quantum corrections for probabilities, calculated in the external field approximation originally used by Landau and Teller. The quantum corrections are expressed through the Landau-Teller classical collision time. The first-order correction to the classical exponent restores detailed balance for up- and down-transitions and does not depend on the properties of the bath except for its temperature. The limits of applicability of the first-order correction are discussed.