Interatomic potentials from velocity-changing collision kernels

Measurements of velocity-changing collision kernels have recently been reported. Here we describe the results of calculations which demonstrate that interatomic potentials can accurately be derived from such data. It is important to analyze the kernel directly in terms of an interatomic potential and not in terms of a traditional energy-averaged differential cross section. We use experimental results to determine the Rb-He potential and compare it to calculated potentials.