| Abstract: | The usefulness of the MS -Xα method for calculating molecular transition properties is investigated in a study of NO2. Two-dimensional potential surfaces are obtained in C2v symmetry for the X?2A1/Ã2B2 system. Potential curves that approximately follow the asymmetric stretch coordinate are also presented: On investigation, no symmetry-broken solutions were found. At all nuclear geometries investigated, the muffin-tin sphere radii were chosen by an energy-minimization technique. The inclusion of corrections to the muffin-tin form of the Xα total energy is shown to be essential, if the computed surfaces are to be qualitatively correct. The transition dipole moment connecting the two states is evaluated as a function of nuclear coordinates, using the transition-state approximation. Finally, the radiative decay of a single vibronic level in NO2 is modeled and the relevance to experiment is discussed. |
