Theoretical investigation of rotationally inelastic collisions of the methyl radical with helium

Rotationally inelastic collisions of the CH(3) molecule in its ground X(2)A(2)' electronic state have been investigated. We have determined a potential energy surface (PES) for the interaction of rigid CH(3), frozen at its equilibrium geometry, with a helium atom, using a coupled-cluster method that includes all single and double excitations, as well as perturbative contributions of connected triple excitations [RCCSD(T)]. The anisotropy of the PES is dominated by repulsion of the helium by the hydrogen atoms. The dissociation energy D(e) was computed to equal 27.0 cm(-1). At the global minimum, the helium atom lies in the CH(3) plane between two C-H bonds at an atom-molecule separation R = 6.52 bohr. Cross sections for collision-induced rotational transitions have been determined through quantum scattering calculations for both nuclear spin modifications. Rotationally inelastic collisions can cause a change in the rotational angular momentum n and its body-frame projection k. Because of the anisotropy of the PES due to the hydrogen atoms, there is a strong propensity for Δk = ±3 transitions. Thermal rate constants for state-specific total collisional removal have also been determined.     

Theoretical investigation of rotationally inelastic collisions of CH2(ã) with helium

Rotationally inelastic collisions of the CH(2) molecule in its a?(1)A(1) electronic state have been investigated. We have determined a potential energy surface (PES) for the interaction of rigid CH(2)(a?), frozen at its equilibrium geometry, with a helium atom, using a coupled-cluster method that includes all single and double excitations, as well as perturbative contributions of connected triple excitations [RSSCD(T)]. The PES is quite anisotropic, due to lack of electron density in the unoccupied CH(2) non-bonding orbital perpendicular to the molecular plane. Quantum scattering calculations have been carried out to compute state-to-state rotational energy transfer and elastic depolarization cross sections at collision energies up to 2400 cm(-1). These cross sections were thermally averaged to derive room-temperature rate constants. The total removal and elastic depolarization rate constants for the ortho k(a) = 1 levels agree well with recent experimental measurements by Hall, Sears, and their co-workers. We observe a strong even-odd alternation in the magnitude of the total rate constants which we attribute to the asymmetry splitting of the k(a) = 1 levels.     

He-ThO(1Σ+) interactions at low temperatures: elastic and inelastic collisions, transport properties, and complex formation in cold 4He gas

We present an ab initio study of cold (4)He + ThO((1)Σ(+)) collisions based on an accurate potential energy surface (PES) evaluated by the coupled cluster method with single, double, and noniterative triple excitations using an extended basis set augmented by bond functions. Variational calculations of rovibrational energy levels show that the (4)He-ThO van der Waals complex has a binding energy of 10.9 cm(-1) in its ground J = 0 rotational state. The calculated energy levels are used to obtain the temperature dependence of the chemical equilibrium constant for the formation of the He-ThO complex. We find that complex formation is thermodynamically favored at temperatures below 1 K and predict the maximum abundance of free ground-state ThO(v = 0, j = 0) molecules between 2 and 3 K. The calculated cross sections for momentum transfer in elastic He + ThO collisions display a rich resonance structure below 5 cm(-1) and decline monotonically above this collision energy. The cross sections for rotational relaxation accompanied by momentum transfer decline abruptly to zero at low collision energies (<0.1 cm(-1)). We find that Stark relaxation in He + ThO collisions can be enhanced by applying an external dc electric field of less than 100 kV∕cm. Finally, we present calculations of thermally averaged diffusion cross sections for ThO in He gas, and find these to be insensitive to small variations of the PES at temperatures above 1 K.     

Inelastic state-to-state scattering of OH (2Pi3/2, J=3/2,f) by HCl

Parity resolved state-to-state cross sections for inelastic scattering of OH (X2Pi) by HCl were measured in a crossed molecular beam experiment at the collision energy of 920 cm(-1). The OH (X2Pi) radicals were prepared in a single quantum state, Omega=3/2, J=3/2, MJ=3/2, f, by means of electrostatic state selection in a hexapole field. The rotational distribution of the scattered OH radicals by HCl was probed by saturated LIF spectroscopy of the 0-0 band of the A 2Sigma+ - X 2Pi transition. Relative state-to-state cross sections were measured for rotational excitations up to J=9/2 within the Omega=3/2 spin-orbit manifold and up to J=7/2 within the Omega=1/2 spin-orbit manifold. A propensity for spin-orbit conserving transitions was found, but no propensity for excitation into a particular Lambda-doublet component of the same rotational state was evident. The data are presented and discussed in comparison with results previously obtained for collisions of OH with CO (Ecoll=450 cm(-1)) and N2 (Ecoll=410 cm(-1)) and with new data we have measured for the OH+CO system at a comparable collision energy (Ecoll=985 cm(-1)). This comparison suggests that the potential energy surface (PES) governing the interaction between OH and HCl is more anisotropic than the PES's governing the intermolecular interaction of OH with CO and N2.     

Franck-Condon effects in collision-induced electronic energy transfer: I2(E; v = 1,2) + He, Ar

Collisions of I2 in the E electronic state with rare gas atoms result in electronic energy transfer to the D, beta, and D' ion-pair electronic states. Rate constants for each of these channels have been measured when I2 is initially prepared in the J = 55, nu = 1 and 2 levels in the E state. The rate constants and effective hard sphere collision cross sections confirm the trends observed when nu = 0 in the E state is initially prepared: He collisions favor population of the D state, while Ar collisions favor population of the beta state. Final state vibrational level distributions are determined by spectral simulation and are found to be qualitatively consistent with the trends in the Franck-Condon factors. The experimental distributions are also compared to the recent quantum scattering calculations of Tscherbul and Buchachenko.     

Doublet rotational energy transfer of the SH (X ²Π, v'=0) state by collisions with Ar

The rotational energy transfer (RET) by Ar collisions within the SH X?(2)Π (v' = 0, J' = 0.5-10.5) state is characterized. The integral cross sections as a function of collision energy for each rotational transition are calculated using a quantum scattering method in which the constructed potential energy functions are based on a ground state potential energy surface (PES) reported previously. On the other hand, a laser-induced excitation fluorescence technique is employed to monitor the relaxation of the rotational population as a function of photolysis-probe delay time following the photodissociation of H(2)S at 248 nm. The rotational population evolution is comparable to its theoretical counterpart based on calculated Λ-resolved RET rate constants. The propensity in Λ-resolved RET transitions is found to approximately resemble the case of OH(X?(2)Π, v' = 0) + Ar. The Λ-averaged RET collisions are also analyzed and result in several propensity rules in the transitions. Most propensity rules are similar to those observed in the collisions of SH(A?(2)Σ(+)) by Ar. However, the behavior of the conserving ratio, defined as rate constants for spin-orbit conserving transition divided by those for spin-orbit changing transition, shows distinct difference from those described by Hund's case (b).     

The He-LiH potential energy surface revisited. II. Rovibrational energy transfer on a three-dimensional surface

We use our rigid rotor He-LiH potential energy surface [B. K. Taylor and R. J. Hinde, J. Phys. Chem. 111, 973 (1999)] as a starting point to develop a three-dimensional potential surface that describes the interaction between He and a rotating and vibrating LiH molecule. We use a fully quantum treatment of the collision dynamics on the current potential surface to compute rovibrational state-to-state cross sections. We compute excitation and relaxation vibrational rate constants as a function of temperature by integrating these cross sections over a Maxwell-Boltzmann translational energy distribution and summing over Boltzmann-weighted initial rotational levels. The rate constants for vibrational excitation of LiH are very small for temperatures below 300 K. Rate constants for vibrational relaxation of excited LiH molecules, however, are several orders of magnitude larger and show very little temperature dependence, suggesting that the collisions that result in vibrational relaxation are governed by long-range attractive interactions.     

Fully quantum state-resolved inelastic scattering between He and NO(X (2)Pi)

Quantum mechanical close-coupling calculations have been used to obtain fully quantum state-resolved differential cross sections and opacity functions for the rotationally inelastic collisions of NO(X (2)Pi) with He at collision energies of 63 and 147 meV using the most recent ab initio potential energy surfaces of K?os et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 112, 2195 (2000)]. Double peaks observed in the Lambda-doublet resolved differential cross sections are shown to be related to the presence of analogous peaks in the corresponding opacity functions. These structures can be linked directly to a specific expansion term in the potential, and reflect the fact that NO is not quite homonuclear.     

Rotational energy transfer in collisions between CO(X 1Sigma+, v= 2 , J = 0, 1, 4, and 6) and He at temperatures from 294 to 15 K

Infrared-vacuum ultraviolet double resonance experiments have been implemented in the ultracold environment provided by a Cinetique de Reaction en Ecoulement Supersonique Uniforme apparatus. With this technique rate coefficients of two kinds have been measured for rotational energy transfer in collisions between CO and He: (a) those for total removal from the selected rotational states J = 0, 1, 4, and 6 in the vibronic state X 1Sigma+, v = 2, and (b) those for transfer between selected initial and specific final states. Using different Laval nozzles, results have been obtained at several different temperatures: 294, 149, 63, 27, and 15 K. The thermally averaged cross sections for total removal by collisions with He show only slight variations both with initial rotational state and with temperature. The variation of state-to-state rate coefficients with DeltaJ show several general features: (i) a decrease with increasing DeltaJ; (ii) a propensity to favor odd DeltaJ over even DeltaJ; and (iii) at lower temperatures, the distribution of rate coefficients against DeltaJ becomes narrower, and decreases in J are increasingly favored over increases in J, a preference which is most strongly seen for higher initial values of J. The results are shown to be in remarkably good agreement with those obtained in ab initio scattering calculations by Dalgarno and co-workers [Astrophys. J. 571, 1015 (2002)].     

Inelastic scattering of OH(X2Pi) with Ar and He: a combined polarization spectroscopy and quantum scattering study

One-colour polarization spectroscopy (PS) on the OH A (2)Sigma(+)- X (2)Pi(0,0) band has been used to measure the removal of bulk rotational angular momentum alignment of ground-state OH(X (2)Pi) in collisions with He and Ar. Pseudo-first-order PS signal decays at different collider partial pressures were used to determine second-order decay rate constants for the X (2)Pi(3/2), J = 1.5-6.5, e states. The PS signal decay rate constant, k(PS), is sensitive to all processes that remove population and destroy polarization. The contribution to k(PS) from pure (elastic) alignment depolarization within the initial level, k(DEP), can be extracted by subtracting the independently measured or predicted sum of the rate constants for total rotational energy transfer (RET), k(RET), and for Lambda-doublet changing, k(Lambda), collisions from k(PS). Literature values of k(RET) and k(Lambda) are available from experiments with He and Ar, and from quantum scattering calculations for Ar only. We therefore also present the results of new, exact, fully quantum mechanical calculations of k(RET) and k(Lambda) on the most recent ab initio OH(X)-He potential energy surface of Lee et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 2000, 113, 5736]. The results for k(DEP) from this subtraction for He are found to be modest, around 0.4 x 10(-10) cm(3) s(-1), whereas for Ar k(DEP) is found to range between 0.6 +/- 0.2 x 10(-10) cm(3) s(-1) and 1.7 +/- 0.3 x 10(-10) cm(3) s(-1), comparable to total population removal rate constants. The differences between k(DEP) for the two colliders are most likely explained by the presence of a substantially deeper attractive well for Ar than for He. The measurement of k(DEP) may provide a useful new tool that is more sensitive to the form of the long-range part of the intermolecular potential than rotational state-changing collisions.     

Photolysis of methane revisited at 121.6 nm and at 118.2 nm: quantum yields of the primary products, measured by mass spectrometry

Methane photolysis has been performed at the two Vacuum UltraViolet (VUV) wavelengths, 121.6 nm and 118.2 nm, via a spectrally pure laser pump-probe technique. The first photon is used to dissociate methane (either at 121.6 nm or at 118.2 nm) and the second one is used to ionise the CH(2) and CH(3) fragments. The radical products, CH(3)(X), CH(2)(X), CH(2)(a) and C((1)D), have been selectively probed by mass spectrometry. In order to quantify the fragment quantum yields from the mass spectra, the photoionisation cross sections have been carefully evaluated for the CH(2) and CH(3) radicals, in two steps: first, theoretical ab initio approaches have been used in order to determine the pure electronic photoionisation cross sections of CH(2)(X) and CH(2)(a), and have been rescaled with respect to the measured absolute photoionisation cross section of the CH(3)(X) radical. In a second step, in order to take into account the substantial vibrational energy deposited in the CH(3)(X) and CH(2)(a) radicals, the variation of their cross sections near threshold has been simulated by introducing the pertinent Franck-Condon overlaps between neutral and cation species. By adding the interpolated values of CH quantum yields measured by Rebbert and Ausloos [J. Photochem., 1972, 1, 171-176], a complete set of fragment quantum yields has been derived for the methane photodissociation at 121.6 nm, with carefully evaluated 1σ uncertainties: Φ[CH(3)(X)] = 0.42 ± 0.05, Φ[CH(2)(a)] = 0.48 ± 0.05, Φ[CH(2)(X)] = 0.03 ± 0.08, Φ[CH(X)] = 0.07 ± 0.01. These new data have been measured independently of the H atom fragment quantum yield, subject to many controversies in the literature. From our results, we evaluate Φ(H) = 0.55 ± 0.17 at 121.6 nm. The quantum yields for the photolysis at 118.2 nm differ notably from those measured at 121.6 nm, with a substantial production of the CH(2)(X) fragment: Φ[CH(3)(X)] = 0.26 ± 0.04, Φ[CH(2)(a)] = 0.17 ± 0.05, Φ[CH(2)(X)] = 0.48 ± 0.06, Φ[CH(X)] = 0.09 ± 0.01, Φ(H) = 1.31 ± 0.13. These new data should bring reliable and essential inputs for the photochemical models of the Titan atmosphere.     

Ab initio potential energy surface of CH and reaction dynamics of H + CH+

This work presents a new ground state potential energy surface (PES) for CH. The potential is tested using quasi classical trajectory (QCT) and quantum reactive scattering methods for the H + CH(+) reaction. Cross sections and rate coefficients for all reaction channels up to 300 K are calculated. The abstraction rate coefficients follow the expected slightly decreasing behaviour above 90 K, but have a positive gradient with lower temperatures. The inelastic collision and exchange reaction rate constants are increasing monotonically with temperature. The rate coefficients of the exchange reaction differ significantly between QCT and quantum reactive scattering, due to intrinsic shortcomings of the QCT final state distributions.     

Reduced dimensionality spin-orbit dynamics of CH3 + HCl ⇌ CH4 + Cl on ab initio surfaces

A reduced dimensionality quantum scattering method is extended to the study of spin-orbit nonadiabatic transitions in the CH(3) + HCl ? CH(4) + Cl((2)P(J)) reaction. Three two-dimensional potential energy surfaces are developed by fitting a 29 parameter double-Morse function to CCSD(T)/IB//MP2/cc-pV(T+d)Z-dk ab initio data; interaction between surfaces is described by geometry-dependent spin-orbit coupling functions fit to MCSCF/cc-pV(T+d)Z-dk ab initio data. Spectator modes are treated adiabatically via inclusion of curvilinear projected frequencies. The total scattering wave function is expanded in a vibronic basis set and close-coupled equations are solved via R-matrix propagation. Ground state thermal rate constants for forward and reverse reactions agree well with experiment. Multi-surface reaction probabilities, integral cross sections, and initial-state selected branching ratios all highlight the importance of vibrational energy in mediating nonadiabatic transition. Electronically excited state dynamics are seen to play a small but significant role as consistent with experimental conclusions.     

Infrared-vacuum ultraviolet-pulsed field ionization-photoelectron study of CH(3)I(+) using a high-resolution infrared laser

By using a high-resolution single mode infrared-optical parametric oscillator laser to prepare CH(3)I in single (J,K) rotational levels of the nu(1) (symmetric C-H stretching) =1 vibrational state, we have obtained rovibrationally resolved infrared-vacuum ultraviolet-pulsed field ionization-photoelectron (IR-VUV-PFI-PE) spectra of the CH(3)I(+)(X(2)E(32);nu(1)(+)=1;J(+),P(+)) band, where (J,K) and (J(+),P(+)) represent the respective rotational quantum numbers of CH(3)I and CH(3)I(+). The IR-VUV-PFI-PE spectra observed for K=0 and 1 are found to have nearly identical structures. The IR-VUV-PFI-PE spectra for (J,K)=(5,0) and (7, 0) are also consistent with the previous J-selected IR-VUV-PFI-PE measurements. The analysis of these spectra indicates that the photoionization cross section of CH(3)I depends strongly on DeltaJ(+)=J(+)-J: but not on J and K. This observation lends strong support for the major assumption adopted for the semiempirical simulation scheme, which has been used for the simulation of the origin bands observed in VUV-PFI-PE study of polyatomic molecules. Using the state-to-state photoionization cross sections determined in this IR-VUV study, we have obtained excellent simulation of the VUV-PFI-PE origin band of CH(3)I(+)(X (2)E(32)), yielding more precise IE(CH(3)I)=76 930.7+/-0.5 cm(-1) and nu(1) (+)=2937.8+/-0.2 cm(-1).     

A reduced dimensionality quasiclassical and quantum study of the proton transfer reaction H3O(+)+H2O-->H2O+H3O(+)

We report quantum and quasiclassical calculations of proton transfer in the reaction H(3)O(+)+H(2)O in three degrees of freedom, the two OH(+) bond lengths and the OH(+)O angle. The reduced dimensional potential energy surface is obtained from the full dimensional OSS3(p) energy function of H(5)O(2) (+) [L. Ojamae, I. Shavitt, and S. J. Singer, J. Chem. Phys. 109, 5547 (1998)], with an additional long-range correction to reproduce the correct ion-molecule interaction. This surface is used to perform both quasiclassical trajectory and quantum reactive scattering calculations of the zero total angular momentum cumulative reaction probability and cross sections for initial rotational states 0, 1, and 2. Comparison of these quantities are made to assess the importance of quantum effects in this reduced dimensional reaction. Additional quasiclassical cross sections are calculated to obtain the thermal rate constant for the reaction.     

Steric asymmetry and lambda-doublet propensities in state-to-state rotationally inelastic scattering of NO(2Pi(1/2)) with He

Relative integrated cross sections are measured for rotationally inelastic scattering of NO(2Pi(1/2)),hexapole selected in the upper lambda-doublet level of the ground rotational state (j = 0.5), in collisions with He at a nominal energy of 514 cm(-1). Application of a static electric field E in the scattering region, directed parallel or antiparallel to the relative velocity vector v, allows the state-selected NO molecule to be oriented with either the N end or the O end towards the incoming He atom. Laser-induced fluorescence detection of the final state of the NO molecule is used to determine the experimental steric asymmetry, [formula: see text], which is equal to within a factor of (- 1) to the molecular steric effect, S(i-->f) is identical with (sigma(He-->NO) - (sigma(He-->ON))/(sigma(He-->NO) + sigma(He-->ON)). The dependence of the integral inelastic cross section on the incoming lambda-doublet component is also observed as a function of the final rotational (j'), spin-orbit (omega'), and lambda-doublet (epsilon') state. The measured steric asymmetries are significantly larger than previously observed for NO-Ar scattering, supporting earlier proposals that the repulsive part of the interaction potential is responsible for the steric asymmetry. In contrast to the case of scattering with Ar, the steric asymmetry of NO-He collisions is not very sensitive to the value of omega'. However, the lambda-doublet propensities are very different for [omega=0.5(F1)-->omega'= 1.5(F2)] and [omega=0.5(F1)-->omega'=0.5(F1)] transitions. Spin-orbit manifold conserving collisions exhibit a propensity for parity conservation at low deltaj, but spin-orbit manifold changing collisions do not show this propensity. In conjunction with the experiments, state-to-state cross sections for scattering of oriented NO(2Pi) molecules with He atoms are predicted from close-coupling calculations on restricted coupled-cluster methods including single, double, and noniterated triple excitations [J. Klos, G. Chalasinski, M. T. Berry, R.Bukowski, and S. M. Cybulski, J. Chem. Phys. 112, 2195 (2000)] and correlated electron-pair approximation [M. Yang and M. H. Alexander, J. Chem. Phys. 103, 6973 (1995)] potential energy surfaces. The calculated steric asymmetry S(i-->f) of the inelastic cross sections at Etr= 514 cm(-1) is in reasonable agreement with that derived from the present experimental measurements for both spin-manifold conserving (F1-->Fl) and spin-manifold changing (F1 --F2) collisions, except that the overall sign of the effect is opposite. Additionally, calculated field-free integral cross sections for collisions at Etr = 508 cm(-1) are compared to the experimental data of Joswig et al. [J. Chem. Phys.85, 1904 (1986)]. Finally, the calculated differential cross section for collision energy Etr= 491 cm(-1) is compared to experimental data of Westley et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 114, 2669 (2001)] for the spin-orbit conserving transition F1 (j = 0.5) -F1f (j' = 3.5).     

Differential scattering of cold molecules in superimposed electric and magnetic fields

We present a detailed theoretical study of differential cross sections for inelastic collisions of (2)Sigma molecules in the presence of superimposed electric and magnetic fields. Using rigorous quantum dynamical calculations, we show that the angular dependence of cross sections for Zeeman relaxation in collisions of CaD molecules with He atoms at low temperatures can be significantly modified by electric fields of less than 100 kVcm. Our results suggest that the differential scattering cross sections are more sensitive to the electric field than the averaged integral cross sections. We show that the integral cross sections corresponding to a fixed orientation of the incoming collision flux may exhibit interference effects induced by electric fields.     

A time-dependent wave packet quantum scattering study of the reaction HD+ (v = 0 - 3;j0 = 1) + He --> HeH+(HeD+) + D(H)

Time-dependent wave packet quantum scattering (TWQS) calculations are presented for HD(+) (v = 0 - 3;j(0)=1) + He collisions in the center-of-mass collision energy (E(T)) range of 0.0-2.0 eV. The present TWQS approach accounts for Coriolis coupling and uses the ab initio potential energy surface of Palmieri et al. [Mol. Phys. 98, 1839 (2000)]. For a fixed total angular momentum J, the energy dependence of reaction probabilities exhibits quantum resonance structure. The resonances are more pronounced for low J values and for the HeH(+) + D channel than for the HeD(+) + H channel and are particularly prominent near threshold. The quantum effects are no longer discernable in the integral cross sections, which compare closely to quasiclassical trajectory calculations conducted on the same potential energy surface. The integral cross sections also compare well to recent state-selected experimental values over the same reactant and translational energy range. Classical impulsive dynamics and steric arguments can account for the significant isotope effect in favor of the deuteron transfer channel observed for HD(+)(v<3) and low translational energies. At higher reactant energies, angular momentum constraints favor the proton-transfer channel, and isotopic differences in the integral cross sections are no longer significant. The integral cross sections as well as the J dependence of partial cross sections exhibit a significant alignment effect in favor of collisions with the HD(+) rotational angular momentum vector perpendicular to the Jacobi R coordinate. This effect is most pronounced for the proton-transfer channel at low vibrational and translational energies.