Determination of asymmetry splittings in the polyatomic molecule propynal by Stark quantum beat spectroscopy

Coherences among asymmetry-split rotational levels in a molecule can be created when a weak electric field is applied. The quantum beats superimposed on the time-resolved fluorescence decay are utilized for the accurate measurement of asymmetry splittings. The technique is exemplified for selected vibronicS ₁ states of propynal and αD-propynal and the results are compared with conventional (i.e. frequency domain) spectroscopic data. The applicability of the presented method of coherence spectroscopy is discussed.     

Hyperfine quantum beat spectroscopy of a polyatomic molecule in a weak magnetic field with polarized light

Resolved Zeeman splittings in molecular quantum beats are used for the first time to assign hyperfine components of a triplet sublevel of a polyatomic     

Dipole moments of HDO in highly excited vibrational states measured by Stark induced photofragment quantum beat spectroscopy

We report here a measurement of electric dipole moments in highly vibrationally excited HDO molecules. We use photofragment yield detected quantum beat spectroscopy to determine electric field induced splittings of the J=1 rotational levels of HDO excited with 4, 5, and 8 quanta of vibration in the OH stretching mode. The splittings allow us to deduce mua and mub, the projections of dipole moment onto the molecular rotation inertial axes. We compare the measured HDO dipole moment components with the results of quantitative calculations based on Morse oscillator wave functions and an ab initio dipole moment surface. The vibrational dependence of the dipole moment components reflect both structural and electronic changes in HDO upon vibrational excitation; principally the vibrational dependence of the O-H bond length and bond angle, and the resulting change in orientation of the principal inertial coordinate system. The dipole moment data also provide a sensitive test of theoretical dipole moment and potential energy surfaces, particularly for molecular configurations far from equilibrium.     

Vibrational spectra of polyatomic molecules assisted by quantum thermal baths

We assess the performance of colored-noise thermostats to generate quantum mechanical initial conditions for molecular dynamics simulations, in the context of infrared spectra of large polyatomic molecules. Comparison with centroid molecular dynamics simulations taken as reference shows that the method is accurate in predicting line shifts and band widths in the ionic cluster (NaCl)(32) and in the naphthalene molecule. As illustrated on much larger polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, the method also allows fundamental spectra to be evaluated in the limit of T = 0, taking into account anharmonicities and vibrational delocalization.     

Classical vs quantum vibrational energy relaxation pathways in solvated polyatomic molecules

Vibrational energy relaxation (VER) of solvated polyatomic molecules can occur via different pathways. In this paper, we address the question of whether treating VER classically or quantum-mechanically can lead to different predictions with regard to the preferred pathway. To this end, we consider the relaxation of the singly excited asymmetric stretch of a rigid, symmetrical, and linear triatomic molecule (A-B-A) in a monatomic liquid. In this case, VER can occur either directly to the ground state or indirectly via intramolecular vibrational relaxation (IVR) to the symmetric stretch. We have calculated the rates of these two different VER pathways via classical mechanics and the linearized semiclassical (LSC) method. When the mass of the terminal A atoms is significantly larger than that of the central B atom, we find that LSC points to intermolecular VER as the preferred pathway, whereas the classical treatment points to IVR. The origin of this trend reversal appears to be purely quantum-mechanical and can be traced back to the significantly weaker quantum enhancement of solvent-assisted IVR in comparison to that of intermolecular VER.     

A novel spectroscopy using ultrafast two-pulse excitation of large polyatomic molecules

A first infrared pulse at frequency ν₁ interacts with vibrational states in S₀ and a second visible pulse at ν₂ promotes the excited molecules to the S₁ state from where they fluoresce. Tuning the frequency ν₂ over 600 cm^?1 allows the observation of a detailed spectrum which gives information on vibrational states in S₀ and on vibronic states in S₁ together with corresponding Franck—Condon factors. The spectra differ drastically from the common broad and featureless absorption and fluorescence bands.     

Site selection spectroscopy of polyatomic molecules: principles, applications and possibilities

Brief review of a new branch in the spectroscopy of complex organic molecules in solutions - Site Selection Spectroscopy - is given. Principles and methods to reveal a line structure in the inhomogeneously broadened absorption and luminescence spectra by means of selective laser excitation are described. Some examples are shown to demonstrate new possibilities of selective methods for precise investigations of: energy levels of organic molecules; electron-phonon interactions; the Zeeman and Stark effects, spectrochemical analysis of complex organic materials, etc.     

Resolved high Rydberg spectroscopy of polyatomic molecules and van der Waals clusters

Using sub-Doppler double resonance excitation with Fourier-transform limited laser pulses and pulsed field ionization techniques we were able to resolve individual high n Rydberg states (45 < n < 110) below and above the lowest ionization energy of van der Waals clusters of benzene with the noble gases neon and argon. By choosing various selected J'K' intermediate rotational states we detected and assigned several Rydberg series with nearly vanishing quantum defect. They converge to different limits representing the rotational states in the vibrational states of the cluster cation. Even far above the ionization threshold sharp high-n Rydberg states with a width of 750 MHz are observed converging to intramolecular vibrational states located up to 800 cm-1 above the dissociation threshold of the cluster ion. This points to a slow dissociation rate of the cluster ion in the range of 3 x 10(5) s-1 < k < 5 x 10(8) s-1. In further studies single high Rydberg states of benzonitrile, a polyatomic molecule with an high dipole moment of 4.18 D, were detected in the range from n = 50 to 100. We plan to investigate the influence of the strong anisotropic dipole field of this molecule on the coupling between the high Rydberg electron and the molecular core.     

EPR breakup of polyatomic molecules

We explore the EPR experiment in the case of the breakup of a polyatomic molecule into two mutually entangled fragments. We give a derivation based on the properties of the dissociated wave function that no information is transferred, not even at a speed smaller than the speed of light, from one entangled partner to the other concerning its measurement or lack thereof. We also explain experiments that show that each separated fragment can retain coherences induced in its parent molecule by a broad band laser pulse, regardless of whether a measurement has been performed on its entangled partner.     

Valence-shell calculations on polyatomic molecules

Calculations using the CNDO/2, the Extended Hückel (EH) method, and an iterative Extended Hückel (IEH) method are reported for HF, H₂O, NH₃, CO, H₂CO, HCONH₂, HCOOH, HCOF and sydnone. For the IEH method, it is shown that if the dipole moment is calculated by including the atomic dipole moment and the overlap moment (homopolar dipole) as well as the term from the Mulliken populations, then, except for carbon monoxide, the IEH method gives results in good agreement with experiment. The non-iterative EH method predicts dipole moments that are much too high. For molecules with dipole moments smaller than 3 Debyes, the IEH and CNDO/2 methods give similar results, but for molecules with higher dipole moments (formamide and sydnone), the CNDO/2 method gives better agreement with experiment. Comparison of the calculations on sydnone with those on other carbonyl compounds suggests that sydnone is best represented as a resonance stabilized azo-methine imine rather than as a meso-ionic or betaine type compound.

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Zusammenfassung Rechnungen mittels des CNDO/2- und des erweiterten Hückelverfahrens (iterativ und nichtiterativ) werden für HF, H₂O, NH₃, CO, H₂CO, HCONH₂, HCOOH, HCOF und Sydnon vorgelegt. Im Fall des iterativen Hückelverfahrens zeigt sich, daß die Dipolmomente (außer für CO) gut mit dem Experiment übereinstimmen, wenn man die atomaren Dipol- und die Überlappungsmomente sowie die Terme der Mulliken-Population berücksichtigt. Dagegen sind die entsprechenden Werte des nichtiterativen Verfahrens viel zu groß. Für Moleküle mit Dipolmomenten kleiner als 3 Debye liefert das CNDO/2-Verfahren ähnliche Werte wie die iterative Hückelmethode, für Moleküle mit größeren Dipolmomenten dagegen bessere Resultate. Vergleicht man die Rechnungen für Sydnon mit denen für andere Carbonylverbindungen, so scheint es, daß man es besser als resonanzstabilisiertes Azomethinimin und nicht als Betain auffassen sollte.

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Résumé HF, H₂O, NH₃, CO, H₂CO, HCONH₂, HCOOH, HCOF et la Sydnone on été calculées en utilisant les méthodes CNDO/2, Hückel étendu (EH) et Hückel étendu itératif (IEH). On montre que, pour la méthode IEH, si l'on calcule le moment dipolaire en incluant le moment dipolaire atomique et le moment de recouvrement (dipôle homopolaire) ainsi que le terme provenant des populations de Mulliken, les résultats obtenus sont en bon accord avec l'expérience sauf pour l'oxyde de carbone. La méthode EH non itérative donne des moments dipolaires trop élevés. Pour les molécules de moment inférieur à 3 Debyes, IEH et CNDO/2 donnent des résultats similaires, mais pour les molécules à moments plus élevés (formamide et sydnone) la méthode CNDO/2 donne un meilleur accord avec l'expérience. La comparaison des calculs sur la sydnone avec ceux sur les autres composés carbonylés suggère que la sydnone est mieux représentée comme une azo-méthine imine stabilisée par résonance que comme un composé de type «méso-ionique» ou bétaïnique.

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This work was supported by Grant No. MH-12951-02 from the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

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NASA Research Trainee.     

Challenges to computational quantum chemistry from contemporary advances in polyatomic molecular electronic spectroscopy

Molecular electronic spectroscopy featuring intramolecular proton transfer and twisted intramolecular charge transfer poses a whole new range of problems for computational quantum chemistry. The development of the four-level laser based on the intramolecular proton-transfer focuses on the subtleties of the interaction of the singlet and triplet electronic state manifolds of the two different tautomeric species. Examples are given of the sensitive variation of proton-transfer fluorescence with chemical substitution. A competing excitation channel is shown to exist when internal molecular torsion couples with sudden polarization to yield a twisted intramolecular charge transfer configuration. In such systems, three competing fluorescences can be observed. Several electronic puzzles will be presented that can provide fertile territory for quantum chemical computations. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Two-color photoionization spectroscopy of polyatomic molecules and cations: aniline,phenol and phenotole

Two-color, two-photon resonance-enhanced ionization spectra have been obtained for aniline, phenol and phenotole near and above the ionization threshold in an effusive and supersonic beam. Precise adiabatic ionization energies have been measured. The electric field dependence of these energies is found to be consistent with a field-ionization red shift of the thresholds. The two-color photoionization technique has been successfully applied to determine a set of vibrational frequencies of the excited neutral and ground ionic states of these molecules.     

Cold collisions of complex polyatomic molecules

We introduce a method for classical trajectory calculations to simulate collisions between atoms and large rigid asymmetric-top molecules. We investigate the formation of molecule-helium complexes in buffer-gas cooling experiments at a temperature of 6.5 K for molecules as large as naphthalene. Our calculations show that the mean lifetime of the naphthalene-helium quasi-bound collision complex is not long enough for the formation of stable clusters under the experimental conditions. Our results suggest that it may be possible to improve the efficiency of the production of cold molecules in buffer-gas cooling experiments by increasing the density of helium. In addition, we find that the shape of molecules is important for the collision dynamics when the vibrational motion of molecules is frozen. For some molecules, it is even more crucial than the number of accessible degrees of freedom. This indicates that by selecting molecules with suitable shape for buffer-gas cooling, it may be possible to cool molecules with a very large number of degrees of freedom.     

Potential energy functions of polyatomic molecules

A direct method is proposed for determining polyatomic potential energy functions, expressed in terms of normal coordinates, which yield a given set of vibrational excitation energies. The method is a modification of the semiclassical technique for computing vibrational energy levels of Percival and Pomphrey. The technique is used to derive potential functions for the NO₂, SO₂ and ClO₂ molecules. With these potentials twenty two higher vibrational excitations energies have been predicted for these molecules and these results differ from the experimental values by at most 3 cm^?1. The computed potential functions are not unique despite the apparent accuracy of the vibrational energy levels. Comparison with the RKR method indicates that the present method must be extended to include rotational perturbations.     

Ultrafast vibrational spectroscopy and relaxation in polyatomic molecules: Potential for molecular parallel computing

The feasibility of controlled ultrafast pumping in the mid IR and the probe of the subsequent intramolecular dynamics is illustrated for vibrational excitation of the two metal carbonyls W(CO)₆ and Mn(CO)₅Br in solution. Pumping and probing is performed by short, 130 fs, pulses centered at about 2000 cm⁻¹. Frequency resolved measurements of the time delayed probe pulse are performed. Measured two dimensional spectra are fitted by a kinetic scheme that models the vibrational dynamics. Fast relaxation is solvent induced with the solvent acting also as a heat bath. The (several) probe signals in the experiment can be thought of as the response of a finite state logic machine. This suggests that the molecular machine can act as an ultrafast (petaHertz) processor. The number of internal (memory) states of the machine is determined by the number of vibrational states in the kinetic scheme that can fit the observed relaxation. The number of outputs of the machine is the number of the several different available probe signals. It is shown that the machine is massively parallel because in each (sub ps) time step it produces an entire vector as an output and that each component of the output vector is, by itself, a transform over the input. Beyond that, the machine can produce a (finite number of) different output vectors in sequential time steps.     

Study of optical relaxation of polyatomic molecules in the condensed phase by site-selective laser spectroscopy

Fluorescence line narrowing and hole burning in absorption spectra have been used for a study electronic and vibrational relaxations and inhomogeneous distribution function for coproporphyrin III molecules in solid ethanol and n-octane matrices in the temperature range from 3.2 to 26 K.