Revelation of non-statistical behavior in HO2 vibration by a new ab initio potential energy surface

The hydroperoxyl radical (HO2) has long been considered as a prototype for statistical vibrational dynamics. In this work, however, it is shown that the bound state energy levels (up to the dissociation threshold) and low-lying resonances of the HO2 system (J=0) obtained on a new ab initio potential energy surface exhibit surprisingly large regularity. The implications of the non-statistical behavior of the HO2 system in unimolecular and bimolecular reactions are discussed.