Role of angular momentum conservation in unimolecular translational energy release: validity of the orbiting transition state theory

The translational kinetic energy release distribution (KERD) for the halogen loss reaction of the bromobenzene and iodobenzene cations has been reinvestigated on the microsecond time scale. Two necessary conditions of validity of the orbiting transition state theory (OTST) for the calculation of kinetic energy release distributions (KERDs) have been formulated. One of them examines the central ion-induced dipole potential approximation. As a second criterion, an adiabatic parameter is derived. The lower the released translational energy and the total angular momentum, the larger the reduced mass, the rotational constant of the molecular fragment, and the polarizability of the released atom, the more valid is the OTST. Only the low-energy dissociation of the iodobenzene ion (E approximately 0.45 eV, where E is the internal energy above the reaction threshold) is found to fulfill the criteria of validity of the OTST. The constraints that act on the dissociation dynamics have been studied by the maximum entropy method. Calculations of entropy deficiencies (which measure the deviation from a microcanonical distribution) show that the pair of fragments does not sample the whole of the phase space that is compatible with the mere specification of the internal energy. The major constraint that results from conservation of angular momentum is related to a reduction of the dimensionality of the dynamics of the translational motion to a two-dimensional space. A second and minor constraint that affects the KERD leads to a suppression of small translational releases, i.e., accounts for threshold behavior. At high internal energies, the effects of curvature of the reaction path and of angular momentum conservation are intricately intermeddled and it is not possible to specify the share of each effect.     

Angular momentum conservation in multichannel unimolecular reactions

A recently developed solution of the master equation for unimolecular and recombination reactions is extended to give new means for incorporating angular momentum (J) conservation in the fall-off regime for multichannel reactions. The calculated pressure dependence of a typical multichannel unimolecular dissociation reaction (thermal dissociation of 1-iodopropane) shows that if one of the channels has a transition state with a moment of inertia (I?) significantly different from that of the parent molecule (I) (e.g., a “simple-fission” type), neglect of angular momentum conservation causes the predicted branching ratio to be grossly in error at lower pressures. Specifically, if I? > I the rate coefficient is underestimated whereas if I? < I the rate coefficient is overestimated.     

Extension of total angular momentum representation in energy space

A previously developed representation of total angular momentum in energy space for three atomic systems is extended to include reactions of the type CF₃CN → CF₃ + CN. The effects of internal CF₃ rotation on the angular momentum constraint are shown under different conditions. The representation is used for comparison with recent infrared multiphoton dissociation experiments on this system.     

Angular momentum conservation in unimolecular and recombination reactions

It is shown that the master equation describing fall-off effects in unimolecular and recombination reactions, with angular momentum (J) conservation taken into account, can be solved exactly if the assumption is made that the probability of collisional energy transfer in J is independent of initial state; this assumption is shown to be physically acceptable (from general conservation considerations and from trajectory calculations) for typical neutral radical recombination and decomposition reactions. This leads to a J-averaged master equation which can be readily solved by standard means. Illustrative computations using this treatment are presented.     

Symplectic integrators and the conservation of angular momentum

In this article we observe that generally symplectic integrators conserve angular momentum exactly, whereas nonsymplectic integrators do not. We show that this observation extends to multiple timesteps and to constrained dynamics. Both of these devices are important for efficient molecular dynamics simulations. © 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Quantum dynamics of rovibrational transitions in H2-H2 collisions: internal energy and rotational angular momentum conservation effects

We present a full dimensional quantum mechanical treatment of collisions between two H(2) molecules over a wide range of energies. Elastic and state-to-state inelastic cross sections for ortho-H(2)?+ para-H(2) and ortho-H(2)?+ ortho-H(2) collisions have been computed for different initial rovibrational levels of the molecules. For rovibrationally excited molecules, it has been found that state-to-state transitions are highly specific. Inelastic collisions that conserve the total rotational angular momentum of the diatoms and that involve small changes in the internal energy are found to be highly efficient. The effectiveness of these quasiresonant processes increases with decreasing collision energy and they become highly state-selective at ultracold temperatures. They are found to be more dominant for rotational energy exchange than for vibrational transitions. For non-reactive collisions between ortho- and para-H(2) molecules for which rotational energy exchange is forbidden, the quasiresonant mechanism involves a purely vibrational energy transfer albeit with less efficiency. When inelastic collisions are dominated by a quasiresonant transition calculations using a reduced basis set involving only the quasiresonant channels yield nearly identical results as the full basis set calculation leading to dramatic savings in computational cost.     

Internal energy and angular momentum effects on collision induced dissociation fragmentation patterns

Data are reported on the effects of internal energy and angular momentum on the collision induced dissociation CID fragmentation pattern. For the ions studied changes in the relative intensities of the fragment ions as internal energy varied were found to be larger than suggested by McLafferty and coworkers. Possible effects of angular momentum on the CID fragmentation pattern are discussed. The charge stripping spectra of the ions studied were found to be strongly dependent on initial energy and/or angular momentum. Hence care must be taken if charge stripping spectra are used to distinguish ion structures.     

Orthogonalization in momentum space

Since the overlap integral between two functions in position space is the same as the overlap integral between their counterparts in momentum space, there is an intimate connection between orthonormalization procedures in the two spaces. It is pointed out that in certain cases this situation can be used to simplify the orthogonalization.     

Modified statistical theory of energy transfer in ion-molecule collisions

The modified statistical theory developed previously for potentials appropriate to interactions in neutral-neutral collisions, is now extended to more strongly attractive potentials involved in ion-neutral collisions. The model system is the collisional deactivation of C₅H₉⁺ by a variety of both polar and non-polar neutral molecules. A 12 - 6 - 4 potential is used for ion interaction with non-polar neutrals, and a 12 - 6 - 4 - 2 potential, as modified by Su and Bowers to take into account the rotational energy of the neutral, for interaction with polar neutrals. Calculated is (ΔE), the average energy lost by the ion in a collision, and compared with experiment. For C₅H₉⁺-CH₄ collisions, the calculated (ΔE) agrees with experiment within 5%. Predictions of the theory, namely that (ΔE) should increase with excitation energy and should decrease with the size of the excited reactant, are found to be in fair agreement with the somewhat ambiguous experimental evidence.     

Combinatorics of angular momentum recoupling theory: spin networks,their asymptotics and applications

The quantum theory of angular momentum and the associated Racah–Wigner algebra of the Lie group SU(2) have been widely used in many branches of theoretical and applied physics, chemical physics, and mathematical physics. This paper starts with an account of the basics of such a theory, which represents the most exhaustive framework in dealing with interacting many-angular momenta quantum systems. We then outline the essential features of this algebra, that can be encoded, for each fixed number N = (n + 1) of angular momentum variables, into a combinatorial object, the spin network graph, where vertices are associated with finite-dimensional, binary coupled Hilbert spaces while edges correspond to either phase or Racah transforms (implemented by 6j symbols) acting on states in such a way that the quantum transition amplitude between any pair of vertices is provided by a suitable 3nj symbol. Applications of such a combinatorial setting—both in fully quantum and in semiclassical regimes—are briefly discussed providing evidence of a unifying background structure.     

Energy-density relations in momentum space

The integrated Hellmann-Feynman theorem is used to derive a rigorous relation between the energy and the electron density in momentum space. Choosing the electron mass as a differential parameter, we obtain a formula corresponding to the Wilson-Frost formula in coordinate space. Analysing the mass-dependence of momentum density, we then show that the present formula is equivalent to one of the previous results deduced from the virial theorem. Use of the integral Hellmann-Feynman theorem is also discussed. Several illustrative examples are given for the calculation of energy from momentum density.     

Energy-density relations in momentum space

Rigorous relations are derived between the electronic energy and the electron momentum density of a molecular system whose Hamiltonian takes the form ofg(λ)T({r}) +h(λ)V({r};{R}) and depends on a parameter λ.     

Fukutome classes in momentum space

Summary Fukutome's group theoretical classification scheme for determinants, based on the transformation properties of the Fock-Dirac density matrix under spin rotations and time reversal, has been extended to momentum space. Particular attention is paid to the transformation properties of orbitals and density matrices under inversion in momentum space.     

Interatomic interactions in momentum space. Momentum density and kinetic energy in chemical bonding

On the basis of the virial theorem for a uniform scaling process of a polyatomic system, the total energy and its gradient are quantitatively related with the behavior of the electron density in momentum space through the kinetic energy of the system. For attractive and repulsive interactions, the behavior of the momentum density distribution and its effect on the stabilization energy and the interatomic force are examined. Some guiding principles are deduced for their interrelation. The results are used to clarify the role of kinetic energy in chemical bonding. Possible energy partitioning in this approach is also mentioned.     

Harmonic analysis and discrete polynomials. From semiclassical angular momentum theory to the hyperquantization algorithm

Orthogonal polynomials of a discrete variable have been widely investigated as fundamental tools of numerical analysis. This work aims to propose the extension of their use to quantum mechanical problems. By exploiting both their connection with coupling and recoupling coefficients of angular momentum theory and their asymptotic relationships (semiclassical limit) with spherical and hyperspherical harmonics, a discretization procedure, the hyperquantization algorithm, has been developed and applied to the study of anisotropic interactions and of reactive scattering. One of the most appealing features of this method turns out to be a drastic reduction of memory requirements and computing time for extensive dynamical calculations. Examples of the application of this technique to stereodirected dynamics via an exact representation for the S matrix as well as to the characterization of molecular beam polarization are also illustrated. Received: 17 September 1999 / Accepted: 3 February 2000 / Published online: 5 June 2000     

Measurements of collisional energy transfer in unimolecular processes

It is shown that the optimal means of tabulating collisional energy transfer parameters in gas-phase uni- and ter-molecular reactions is as the average downward energy transfer, rather than the total energy transferred or the collision efficiency.     

Symmetrization of eigenfunctions of angular momentum in point groups

The eigenfunctions |jm〉 of angular momentum can combine linearly to make basis functions of irreducible representations of point groups. We surmount the projection operator and find a new method to calculate the combination coefficients. It is proven that these coefficients are components of eigenvectors of some hermitian matrices, and that for all pure rotation point groups, the coefficients can be made real numbers by properly choosing the azimuth angles of symmetry elements of point groups in the coordinate system. We apply the coupling theory of angular momentum to obtain the general formulas of the basis functions of point groups. By use of our formulas, we have calculated the basis functions with half‐integers j from 1/2 to 13/2 of double‐valued irreducible representations for the icosahedral group. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 83: 286–302, 2001     

A Modified statistical theory of collisional energy transfer in thermal reactions

A fully statistical kernel describing the probability of energy transfer in collisions between polyatomic reactant (A) and heat bath (M) molecules in a thermal system is developed, proceeding through the formation of an intermediate collision complex (AM) whose internal degrees of freedom are assumed to exchange energy. After pointing out that this kernel does not give a quantitatively useful answer, the kernel is modified by introducing the concept that the collision complex lifetime is due to orbiting collisions, and that the (AM) lifetime must equal collision duration. This puts two constraints on the internal degrees of freedom of (AM): (1) those that correlate with relative translation and intrinsic rotation of separated A and M (= transitional modes) can contain only an amount of energy not exceeding E_*, which is the maximum energy for which orbiting can occur; (2) those that correlate with internal degrees of freedom of M must have a density of states such that, subject to constraint (1), the lifetime of (AM) is equal to collision duration. It turns out, quite unambiguously, that the appropriate density of states is equivalent to just one oscillator of M participating in energy exchange. Calculations of average amount of energy transferred (Δ E>) in the system CH₃NC + M show good quantitative agreement with experiment for both polar and non-polar M. The modified theory does not give any appreciable dependence of Δ E> on the size of M because collision duration is assumed to depend only on the long-range part of the potential.     

Strong collision rate coefficients in unimolecular reaction rate theory

The traditional and a recently proposed renormalized approximation to the rate coefficient obtained from a strong collision master equation are derived and compared. It is shown that they deviate significantly when applied to the unimolecular reactions of large molecules with low activation energies at elevated temperatures. The derivation is extended to yield a method whereby the exact rate coefficient can be calculated without increasing the level of numerical effort. An analysis of the exact rate coefficient in the high and low collision frequency limits is found to verify the validity of the traditional approximate rate coefficient in these limits. The renormalized rate coefficient fails in the low frequency limit. Both approximations can be significantly in error at intermediate collision frequencies and the use of the exact expression is recommended.