A valence bond analysis of electronic degeneracies in Jahn-Teller systems: low-lying states of the cyclopentadienyl radical and cation

The lowest doublet electronic state of the cyclopentadienyl radical (CPDR) and the lowest singlet state of the cyclopentadienyl cation (CPDC) are distorted from the highly symmetric D(5h) structure due to the Jahn-Teller effect. A valence bond analysis based on the phase-change rule of Longuet-Higgins reveals that in both cases the distortion is due to the first-order Jahn-Teller effect. It is shown that, while for the radical an isolated Jahn-Teller degeneracy is expected, in the case of the cation the main Jahn-Teller degeneracy is accompanied by five satellite degeneracies. The method offers a chemically oriented way for identifying the distortive coordinates.     

Seams near seams: the Jahn-Teller effect in the 1E" state of N3+

The (1)E(") electronic state of cyclic N(3) (+) arising from the singly excited electron configuration e('3)e(") is studied using multireference configuration interaction wave functions and a quadratic Jahn-Teller Hamiltonian determined from those calculations. It is shown that these two states have both a symmetry-required seam of conical intersections at D(3h) geometries and three proximal symmetry equivalent C(2v) seams, located on a circle with radius rho(0) from the D(3h) intersection. rho(0), a function of Q(s), the breathing mode, is quite small but only attains a value of zero at Q(s) (crit)=1.252 A, resulting in a confluence or intersection node of the three C(2v) seams with the D(3h) seam. At this point only, g= parallelg(Q(s)) parallel, the norm of half the energy difference gradient, the linear Jahn-Teller term, vanishes and the intersection is of the Renner-Teller type. The close proximity of the previously unreported C(2v) seams to the D(3h) seam over the range of Q(s) considered is a consequence of the small values of g, compared to the quadratic Jahn-Teller term. The present analysis has important implications in the study of Jahn-Teller effects in ring systems and provides insight into a recent report that characterized this D(3h) seam as a Renner-Teller or glancing intersection.     

Complex dynamics at conical intersections: vibronic spectra and ultrafast decay of electronically excited trifluoroacetonitrile radical cation

An ab initio quantum dynamical study is performed here to examine the complex nuclear motion underlying the first two photoelectron bands of trifluoroacetonitrile. The highly overlapping structures of the latter are found to originate from transitions to the five lowest electronic states (viz., X(2)E, A(2)A1, B(2)A2, C(2)A1, and D(2)E) of the trifluoroacetonitrile radical cation. The Jahn-Teller (JT) instability of the doubly degenerate X and, D and their pseudo-Jahn-Teller (PJT) interactions with the nondegenerate A, B, and C electronic states along the degenerate vibrational modes lead to multiple multidimensional conical intersections and complex nuclear trajectories through them. It is found that the JT splitting is very weak in the X and relatively stronger in the D state. However, the PJT couplings play the pivotal role in the detailed shape of the vibronic bands of the radical cation. Ultrafast nonradiative decay of electronically excited radical cation has been examined. The findings of this paper are compared with the experimental data and are also discussed in relation to those observed for the methyl cyanide radical cation.     

Theoretical transition probabilities for the A 1Pi-X 1Sigma+ system of AlNC and AlCN isomers based on global potential energy surfaces

Transition probabilities were evaluated for the X (1)Sigma(+)-A (1)Pi system of AlNC and AlCN isomers to analyze photoabsorption and fluorescence spectra. The global potential energy surfaces (PESs) of the X (1)Sigma(+) and A (1)Pi (1 (1)A("),2 (1)A(')) electronic states were determined by the multireference configuration interaction calculations with the Davidson correction. Einstein's B coefficients were computed by quantum vibrational calculations using the three-dimensional PESs of these states and the electronic transition moments for the X-1 (1)A(") and X-2 (1)A(') systems. Einstein's B coefficients obtained for AlNC or AlCN exhibit that the Al-N or Al-C stretching mode is strongly enhanced in the transition. The absorption and fluorescence spectra calculated for the X-1 (1)A(") and X-2 (1)A(') systems are discussed comparing with the observed photoexcitation and fluorescence spectra. The lifetimes for the several vibrational levels of the A (1)Pi state were calculated to be ca. 7 ns for AlNC and 21-24 ns for AlCN from the fluorescence decay rates of the 1 (1)A(")-X and 2 (1)A(')-X emissions.     

Photoionization-induced dynamics of ammonia: ab initio potential energy surfaces and time-dependent wave packet calculations for the ammonia cation

An analytical anharmonic six-dimensional three-sheeted potential energy surface for the ground and first excited states of the ammonia cation has been developed which is tailored to model the ultrafast photoinduced dynamics. Selected ab initio cuts, obtained by multireference configuration interaction calculations, have been used to determine the parameters of a diabatic representation for this Jahn-Teller and pseudo-Jahn-Teller system. The model includes higher-order coupling terms both for the Jahn-Teller and for the pseudo-Jahn-Teller matrix elements. The relaxation to the ground state is possible via dynamical pseudo-Jahn-Teller couplings involving the asymmetric bending and stretching coordinates. The photoelectron spectrum of NH3 and the internal conversion dynamics of NH3+ have been determined by wave packet propagation calculations employing the multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree method. Three different time scales are found in the dynamics calculations for the second absorption band. The ultrafast Jahn-Teller dynamics of the two excited states occurs on a 5 fs time scale. The major part of the internal conversion to the ground state takes place within a short time scale of 20 fs. This fast internal conversion is, however, incomplete and the remaining excited state population does not decay completely even within 100 fs.     

The ultraviolet spectrum of OCS from first principles: Electronic transitions, vibrational structure and temperature dependence

Global three dimensional potential energy surfaces and transition dipole moment functions are calculated for the lowest singlet and triplet states of carbonyl sulfide at the multireference configuration interaction level of theory. The first ultraviolet absorption band is then studied by means of quantum mechanical wave packet propagation. Excitation of the repulsive 2?(1)A(') state gives the main contribution to the cross section. Excitation of the repulsive 1?(1)A(") state is about a factor of 20 weaker at the absorption peak (E(ph) ≈ 45?000?cm(-1)) but becomes comparable to the 2?(1)A(') state absorption with decreasing energy (35?000?cm(-1)) and eventually exceeds it. Direct excitation of the repulsive triplet states is negligible except at photon energies E(ph) < 38?000?cm(-1). The main structure observed in the cross section is caused by excitation of the bound 2?(3)A(") state, which is nearly degenerate with the 2?(1)A(') state in the Franck-Condon region. The structure observed in the low energy tail of the spectrum is caused by excitation of quasi-bound bending vibrational states of the 2?(1)A(') and 1?(1)A(") electronic states. The absorption cross sections agree well with experimental data and the temperature dependence of the cross section is well reproduced.     

Experimental investigation of the Jahn-Teller effect in the ground and excited electronic states of the tropyl radical. Part II. Vibrational analysis of the A 2E"3-X 2E"2 electronic transition

Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and laser-excited dispersed fluorescence (LEDF) spectra of the cycloheptatrienyl (tropyl) radical C7H7 have been observed under supersonic jet-cooling conditions. Assignment of the LIF excitation spectrum yields detailed information about the A-state vibronic structure. The LEDF emission was collected by pumping different vibronic bands of the A 2E"3<--X 2E"2 electronic spectrum. Analysis of the LEDF spectra yields valuable information about the vibronic levels of the X 2E"2 state. The X- and A-state vibronic structures characterize the Jahn-Teller distortion of the respective potential energy surfaces. A thorough analysis reveals observable Jahn-Teller activity in three of the four e'3 modes for the X 2E"2 state and two of the three e'1 modes for the A 2E"3 state and provides values for their deperturbed vibrational frequencies as well as linear Jahn-Teller coupling constants. The molecular parameters characterizing the Jahn-Teller interaction in the X and A states of C7H7 are compared to theoretical results and to those previously obtained for C5H5 and C6H6+.     

Vibronic spectroscopy of unsaturated transition metal complexes: CrC2H, CrCH3, and NiCH3

Vibronically resolved resonant two-photon ionization and dispersed fluorescence spectra of the organometallic radicals CrC(2)H, CrCH(3), and NiCH(3) are reported in the visible and near-infrared wavelength regions. For CrC(2)H, a complicated vibronic spectrum is found in the 11 100-13 300 cm(-1) region, with a prominent vibrational progression having omega(e) (')=426.52+/-0.84 cm(-1), omega(e) (')x(e) (')=0.74+/-0.13 cm(-1). Dispersed fluorescence reveals a v(")=1 level of the ground state with DeltaG(1/2) (")=470+/-20 cm(-1). These vibrational frequencies undoubtedly pertain to the Cr-C(2)H stretching mode. It is suggested that the spectrum corresponds to the A (6)Sigma(+)<--X (6)Sigma(+) band system, with the CrC(2)H molecule being linear in both the ground and the excited state. The related CrCH(3) molecule displays a vibronic spectrum in the 11 500-14 000 cm(-1) region. The upper state of this system displays six sub-bands that are too closely spaced to be vibrational structure, but too widely separated to be K structure. It is suggested that the observed spectrum is a (6)E<--X (6)A(1) band system, analogous to the well-known B (6)Pi<--X (6)Sigma(+) band systems of CrF and CrCl. The ground state Cr-CH(3) vibration is characterized by omega(e) (")=525+/-17 cm(-1) and omega(e) (")x(e) (")=7.9+/-6 cm(-1). The spectrum of NiCH(3) lies in the 16 100-17 400 cm(-1) range and has omega(e) (')=455.3+/-0.1 cm(-1) and omega(e) (')x(e) (')=6.60+/-0.03 cm(-1). Dispersed fluorescence studies provide ground state vibrational constants of omega(e) (")=565.8+/-1.6 cm(-1) and omega(e) (")x(e) (")=1.7+/-3.0 cm(-1). Again, these values correspond to the Ni-CH(3) stretching motion. (c) 2004 American Institute of Physics.     

Exploring the Jahn-Teller and pseudo-Jahn-Teller conical intersections in the ethane radical cation

We report a theoretical account on the static and dynamic aspects of the Jahn-Teller (JT) and pseudo-Jahn-Teller (PJT) interactions in the ground and first excited electronic states of the ethane radical cation. The findings are compared with the experimental photoionization spectrum of ethane. The present theoretical approach is based on a model diabatic Hamiltonian and with the parameters derived from ab initio calculations. The optimized geometry of ethane in its electronic ground state (1A1g) revealed an equilibrium staggered conformation belonging to the D3d symmetry point group. At the vertical configuration, the ethane radical cation belongs to this symmetry point group. The ground and low-lying electronic states of this radical cation are of 2Eg, 2A1g, 2Eu, and 2A2u symmetries. Elementary symmetry selection rule suggests that the degenerate electronic states of the radical cation are prone to the JT distortion when perturbed along the degenerate vibrational modes of eg symmetry. The 2A1g state is estimated to be approximately 0.345 eV above the 2Eg state and approximately 2.405 eV below the 2Eu state at the vertical configuration. The symmetry selection rule also suggests PJT crossings of the 2A1g and the 2Eg electronic states of the radical cation along the vibrational modes of eg symmetry and such crossings appear to be energetically favorable also. The irregular vibrational progressions, with numerous shoulders and small peaks, observed below 12.55 eV in the experimental recording are manifestations of the dynamic (E x e)-JT effect. Our findings revealed that the PJT activity of the degenerate vibrational modes is particularly strong in the 2Eg-2A1g electronic manifold which leads to a broad and diffuse structure of the observed photoelectron band.     

Fluorescence excitation and single vibronic level emission spectroscopy of the A 1A"<--X 1A' system of CHCl

We report new fluorescence excitation and single vibronic level emission spectra of the A (1)A(")<-->X (1)A(') system of CHCl. A total of 21 cold bands involving the pure bending levels 2(0) (n) with n=1-7 and combination bands 2(0) (n)3(0) (1)(n=4-7), 2(0) (n)3(0) (2)(n=4-6), 1(0) (1)2(0) (n)(n=5-7), 1(0) (1)2(0) (n)3(0) (1)(n=4-6), and 1(0) (1)2(0) (n)3(0) (2)(n=4) were observed in the 450-750 nm region; around half of these are reported and/or rotationally analyzed here for the first time. Spectra were measured under jet-cooled conditions using a pulsed discharge source, and rotational analysis typically yielded band origins and rotational constants for both isotopomers (CH(35)Cl,CH(37)Cl). The derived A (1)A(") vibrational intervals are combined with results of Chang and Sears to determine the excited state barrier to linearity [V(b)=1920(50) cm(-1)]. The A (1)A(") state C-H stretching frequency is determined here for the first time, in excellent agreement with ab initio predictions. Following our observation of new bands in this system, we obtained the single vibronic level (SVL) emission spectra which probe the vibrational structure of the X (1)A(') state up to approximately 9000 cm(-1) above the vibrationless level. The total number of X (1)A(') levels observed is around three times than that previously reported, and we observe five new a (3)A(") state levels, including all three fundamentals. The results of a Dunham expansion fit of the ground state vibrational term energies, and comparisons with the previous experimental and recent high level ab initio studies, are reported. Our data confirm the previous assignment of the a (3)A(") origin, and our value for T(00)(a-X)=2172(2) cm(-1) is in excellent agreement with theory. By exploiting SVL spectra from excited state levels with K(a) (')=1, we determine the effective rotational constant (A-B) of the triplet origin, also in good agreement with theory. Our results shed new light on the vibrational structure of the X (1)A('), A (1)A("), and a (3)A(") states of CHCl, and, more generally, spin-orbit coupling in the monohalocarbenes.     

The Jahn-Teller effect in CH(3)CN(+) (X(2)E) and CD(3)CN(+) (X(2)E) studied by zero kinetic energy photoelectron spectroscopy

The Jahn-Teller effect in CH(3)CN(+) (X(2)E) and CD(3)CN(+) (X(2)E) has been found experimentally by zero kinetic energy (ZEKE) photoelectron spectroscopy using coherent extreme ultraviolet (XUV) radiation. The vibronic bands of CH(3)CN(+) (X(2)E) and CD(3)CN(+) (X(2)E) at about 4500 cm(-1) above the ground states have been recorded. The spectra consist mainly of the Jahn-Teller active C-C[triple bond]N bending (v(8)), the CN stretching (v(2)), the CH(3) (CD(3)) deforming (v(6)), and the C-C stretching (v(4)) vibronic excitations. The Jahn-Teller active vibronic bands (v(8)) have been assigned with a harmonic model including linear and quadratic Jahn-Teller coupling terms, taking into account only the single mode vibronic excitation. The ionization potentials of CH(3)CN and CD(3)CN have also been determined, and their values are 12.2040(+/-0.001) and 12.2286(+/-0.001) eV, respectively.     

Potential energy surfaces and Jahn-Teller effect on CH4...NO complexes

The potential energy surface of the CH(4)...NO van der Waals complexes was explored at the RCCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ level including the full counterpoise correction to the basis set superposition error. The Jahn-Teller distortion of the C(3v) configurations for the CH bonded and CH(3) face complexes was analyzed. From this distortion, two A(') and A(") adiabatic surfaces were considered. The estimated zero point energy of C(s) configurations is above the barrier of the C(3v) ones. Therefore, the CH(3) face complexes are dynamic Jahn-Teller systems. The D(0) (140 cm(-1) for A(") state and 100 cm(-1) for A(')) values obtained are in good agreement with the experimental values (103+/-2 cm(-1)) recently reported.     

Spectroscopic and computational studies on the rearrangement of ionized [1.1.1]propellane and some of its valence isomers: the key role of vibronic coupling

The [1.1.1]propellane radical cation 1(?+), generated by radiolytic oxidation of the parent compound in argon and Freon matrices at low temperatures, undergoes a spontaneous rearrangement to form the distonic 1,1-dimethyleneallene (or 2-vinylideneallyl) radical cation 3(?+) consisting of an allyl radical substituted at the 2-position by a vinyl cation. In similar matrix studies, it is found that the isomeric dimethylenecyclopropane radical cation 2(?+) also rearranges to 3(?+). The unusual molecular and electronic structure of 3(?+) has been established by the results of ESR, UV-vis, and IR spectroscopic measurements in conjunction with detailed theoretical calculations. Also of particular interest is an NIR photoinduced reaction by which 3(?+) is cleanly converted to the vinylidenecyclopropane radical cation 4(?+), a process that can be represented in terms of a single electron transfer from the allyl radical to the vinyl cation followed by allyl cation cyclization. The specificity of this photochemical reaction provides additional strong chemical evidence for the structure of 3(?+). Theoretical calculations reveal the decisive role of vibronic coupling in shaping the potential energy surfaces on which the observed ring-opening reactions take place. Thus vibronic interaction in 1(?+) mixes the (2)A(1)' ground state, characterized by its "non-bonding" 3a(1)' SOMO, with the (2)E' first excited state resulting in the destabilization of a lateral C-C bond and the initial formation of the methylenebicyclobutyl radical cation 5(?+). The further rearrangement of 5(?+) to 3(?+) occurs via 2(?+) and proceeds through two additional lateral C-C bond cleavages characterized by transition states of extremely low energy, thereby explaining the absence of identifiable intermediates along the reaction pathway. In these consecutive ring-opening rearrangements, the "non-bonding" bridgehead C-C bond in 1(?+) is conserved and ultimately transformed into a normal bond characterized by a shorter C-C bond length. This work provides strong support for the Heilbronner-Wiberg interpretation of the vibrational structure in the photoelectron spectrum of 1 in terms of vibronic coupling.     

Structure and bonding of the vanadium(III) hexa-aqua cation. 2. Manifestation of dynamical Jahn-Teller coupling in axially distorted vanadium(III) complexes

Ground-state spin-Hamiltonian parameters, magnetic data, and electronic Raman spectra of hexacoordinate vanadium(III) complexes are calculated with consideration to the ((3)A (3)E) e vibronic interaction and compared to experimental data. It is shown that the zero-field-splitting of the (3)A(g) (S(6)) ground term may be reduced significantly by the dynamical Jahn-Teller effect, particularly when the pi-anisotropy of the metal-ligand bonding interaction is significant, and the energy of the Jahn-Teller active vibration is comparable to the diagonal axial field. The dynamical Jahn-Teller effect may also give rise to a significant enhancement in the Raman intensity of overtones and higher harmonics of Jahn-Teller active vibrations, when the energies of these transitions fall in the proximity of intra-(3)T(1g) (O(h)) electronic Raman transitions. A simple method of conducting vibronic coupling calculations is described, employing ligand field matrices generated by angular overlap model calculations, which may in principle be applied to any transition metal complex.     

Vibronic structure of the permanganate absorption spectrum from time-dependent density functional calculations

The UV absorption spectrum of the permanganate anion is a prototype transition-metal complex spectrum. Despite this being a simple d0 Td system, for which a beautiful spectrum with detailed vibrational structure has been available since 1967, the assignment of the second and third bands is still very controversial. The issue can be resolved only by an elucidation of the intricate vibronic structure of the spectrum. We investigate the vibronic coupling by means of linear-response time-dependent density functional calculations. By means of a diabatizing scheme that employs the transition densities obtained in the TDDFT calculations in many geometries around Re, we construct a Taylor series expansion in the normal coordinates of a diabatic potential energy matrix, coupling 24 excited states. The simulated vibronic structure is in good agreement with the experimental absorption spectrum after the adjustment of some of the calculated vertical excitation energies. The peculiar blurred vibronic structure of the second band, which is a very distinctive feature of the experimental spectrum, is fully reproduced in the calculations. It is caused by the double-well shape of the adiabatic energy surface along the Jahn-Teller active e mode of the allowed 1E state arising from the second 1T2 state, which exhibits a Jahn-Teller splitting into 1B2 and 1E states. We trace the double-well shape to an avoided crossing between two diabatic states with different orbital-excitation character. The crossing can be explained at the molecular orbital level from the Jahn-Teller splitting of the set of 7t2{3d(xy), 3d(xz), 3d(yz)} orbitals (the LUMO + 1), to which the excitations characterizing the diabatic states take place. In contrast to its character in the two well regions, at Re the 2(1)T2 state is not predominantly an excitation to the LUMO + 1, but has more HOMO - 1 --> LUMO (2e = {3d(x2-y2), 3d(z2)}) character. The changing character of the 2(1)T2 - 1E state along the e mode implies that the assignment of the experimental bands to single orbital transitions is too simplistic intrinsically. This spectrum, and notably the blurring of the vibronic structure in the second band, can be understood only from the extensive configurational mixing and vibronic coupling between the excited states. This solves the long-standing assignment problem of these bands.     

Application of equation-of-motion coupled-cluster methods to low-lying singlet and triplet electronic states of HBO and BOH

The equilibrium structures and physical properties of the X (1)sigma(+) linear electronic states, linear excited singlet and triplet electronic states of hydroboron monoxide (HBO) (A (1)sigma(-), B (1)delta, a (3)sigma(+), and b (3)delta) and boron hydroxide (BOH) (A (1)sigma(+), B (1)Pi, and b (3)Pi), and their bent counterparts (HBO a (3)A('), b (3)A("), A (1)A("), B (1)A(') and BOH X (1)A('), b (3)A('), c (3)A("), A (1)A('), B (1)A('), C (1)A(")) are investigated using excited electronic state ab initio equation-of-motion coupled-cluster (EOM-CC) methods. A new implementation of open-shell EOM-CC including iterative partial triple excitations (EOM-CC3) was tested. Coupled-cluster wave functions with single and double excitations (CCSD), single, double, and iterative partial triple excitations (CC3), and single, double, and full triple excitations (CCSDT) are employed with the correlation-consistent quadruple and quintuple zeta basis sets. The linear HBO X (1)sigma(+) state is predicted to lie 48.3 kcal mol(-1) (2.09 eV) lower in energy than the BOH X (1)sigma(+) linear stationary point at the CCSDT level of theory. The CCSDT BOH barrier to linearity is predicted to lie 3.7 kcal mol(-1) (0.16 eV). With a harmonic zero-point vibrational energy correction, the HBO X (1)sigma(+)-BOH X (1)A(') energy difference is 45.2 kcal mol(-1) (1.96 eV). The lowest triplet excited electronic state of HBO, a (3)A('), has a predicted excitation energy (T(e)) of 115 kcal mol(-1) (4.97 eV) from the HBO ground state minimum, while the lowest-bound BOH excited electronic state, b (3)A('), has a T(e) of 70.2 kcal mol(-1) (3.04 eV) with respect to BOH X (1)A('). The T(e) values predicted for the lowest singlet excited states are A (1)A(")<--X (1)sigma(+)=139 kcal mol(-1) (6.01 eV) for HBO and A (1)A(')<--X (1)A(')=102 kcal mol(-1) (4.42 eV) for BOH. Also for BOH, the triplet vertical transition energies are b (3)A(')<--X (1)A(')=71.4 kcal mol(-1) (3.10 eV) and c (3)A(")<--X (1)A(')=87.2 kcal mol(-1) (3.78 eV).     

Polarization quantum beat spectroscopy of HCF(A1A"). II. Renner-Teller and spin-orbit mixing in the simplest singlet carbene

To further investigate the Renner-Teller (RT) effect and spin-orbit mixing in the A(1)A(")<--X(1)A(') system of the simplest singlet carbene, HCF, we report a detailed analysis of the K(a) = 1<--0 subband of 2(0) (4) using polarization quantum beat spectroscopy in combination with fluorescence excitation spectroscopy and lifetime measurements. This subband is perturbed both by RT and spin-orbit interactions, which are clearly differentiated due to the order-of-magnitude difference in matrix elements. We show that RT induced mixing with a high vibrational level of X(1)A(') leads to a splitting of this subband, and while the higher energy member is rotationally unperturbed, every line in the lower energy member is perturbed by spin-orbit mixing with background levels of a(3)A("), as evidenced by large (19)F and (1)H hyperfine constants and Lande g factors. In contrast, the higher energy subband exhibits very small Lande g factors and hyperfine constants, which is explained within a model that incorporates only the A(1)A(")-X(1)A(') interaction. We thus demonstrate that polarization quantum beat spectra provides efficient discrimination between RT and spin-orbit interactions. Analysis of the lower energy subband in concert with ab initio electronic structure calculations has yielded the first information on the (19)F and (1)H hyperfine structure of the a(3)A(") state and the magnitude of the spin-orbit matrix elements.     

Communication: multistate quantum dynamics of photodissociation of carbon dioxide between 120 nm and 160 nm

UV absorption cross section of CO(2) is studied using high level ab initio quantum chemistry for electrons and iterative quantum dynamics for nuclear motion on interacting global full dimensional potential energy surfaces. Six electronic states-1, 2, 3(1)A(') and 1, 2, 3(1)A(")-are considered. At linearity, they correspond to the ground electronic state X?(1)Σ(g) (+) and the optically forbidden but vibronically allowed valence states 1(1)Δ(u), 1(1)Σ(u) (-), and 1(1)Π(g). In the Franck-Condon region, these states interact via Renner-Teller and conical intersections and are simultaneously involved in an intricate network of non-adiabatic couplings. The absorption spectrum, calculated for many rotational states, reproduces the distinct two-band shape of the experimental spectrum measured at 190 K and the characteristic patterns of the diffuse structures in each band. Quantum dynamics unravel the relative importance of different vibronic mechanisms, while metastable resonance states, underlying the diffuse structures, provide dynamically based vibronic assignments of individual lines.     

The Jahn-Teller effect in the triply degenerate electronic state of methane radical cation

A quantum dynamics study is performed to examine the complex nuclear motion underlying the first photoelectron band of methane. The broad and highly overlapping structures of the latter are found to originate from transitions to the ground electronic state, X(2)T(2), of the methane radical cation. Ab initio calculations have also been carried out to establish the potential energy surfaces for the triply degenerate electronic manifold of CH(4)(+). A suitable diabatic vibronic Hamiltonian has been devised and the nonadiabatic effects due to Jahn-Teller conical intersections on the vibronic dynamics investigated in detail. The theoretical results show fair accord with experiment.     

Collisional quenching of OD A 2Σ+ by H2: experimental and theoretical studies of the state-resolved OD X 2Π product distribution and branching fraction

We report joint experimental and theoretical studies of outcomes resulting from the nonreactive quenching of electronically excited OD?A (2)Σ(+) by H(2). The experiments utilize a pump-probe technique to detect the OD?X (2)Π product state distribution under single collision conditions. The OD?X (2)Π products are observed primarily in their lowest vibrational state (v(") = 0) with substantially less population in v(") = 1. The OD?X (2)Π products are generated with a high degree of rotational excitation, peaking at N(") = 21 with an average rotational energy of 4600 cm(-1), and a strong propensity for populating the Π(A(')) Λ-doublet component indicative of alignment of the half-filled pπ orbital in the plane of OD rotation. Branching fraction measurements show that the nonreactive channel accounts for less than 20% of quenching outcomes. Complementary classical trajectory calculations of the postquenching dynamics are initiated from representative points along seams of conical intersections between the ground and excited-state potentials of OD(A (2)Σ(+),X (2)Π) + H(2). Diabatic modeling of the initial momenta in the dynamical calculations captures the key experimental trends: OD?X (2)Π products released primarily in their ground vibrational state with extensive rotational excitation and a branching ratio that strongly favors reactive quenching. The OD?A (2)Σ(+) + H(2) results are also compared with previous studies on the quenching of OH?A (2)Σ(+) + H(2); the two experimental studies show remarkably similar rotational energy distributions for the OH and OD?X (2)Π radical products.