Constraints at the transition state of the D + H2 reaction: quantum bottlenecks vs. stereodynamics

This article presents a quasiclassical trajectory method for the calculation of cumulative reaction probabilities by sampling of the helicity quantum number of the reagents (k). The method is applied to the D + H(2) reaction at various total angular momentum (J) values, and the helicity-resolved quasiclassical cumulative reaction probabilities are compared to their quantum mechanical counterparts. The agreement between the two sets of results is fairly good. In particular, k-dependent, J-independent reaction thresholds found with quantum methods are reproduced by the quasiclassical calculations. The shift of these thresholds with increasing k, which has been previously attributed to the quantum bottleneck states taking part in the reaction, is revisited and discussed also in terms of the reaction stereodynamics.     

Ar+ ArH+ Reactive Collisions of Astrophysical Interest: The Case of 36Ar

The reactive collision between ³⁶Ar and the ³⁶ArH⁺ species has been investigated by means of quantum mechanical (QM), quasiclassical trajectories (QCT) and statistical quantum mechanical (SQM) approaches. Reaction probabilities, cross sections as a function of the energy and rate constants in terms of the temperature have been obtained. Cumulative distributions as a function of the collision time and the inspection of selected QCT corresponding to specific dynamical mechanisms have been analysed. Predictions by means of the SQM method are in good agreement with the QM results, thus supporting the complex-forming nature of the process.     

A new potential energy surface for OH(A 2Sigma(+))-Ar: the van der Waals complex and scattering dynamics

New ab initio studies of the OH(A (2)Sigma(+))-Ar system reveal significantly deeper potential energy wells than previously believed, particularly for the linear configuration in which Ar is bound to the oxygen atom side of OH(A (2)Sigma(+)). In spite of this difference with previous ab initio work, bound state calculations based on a new RCCSD(T) potential energy surface yield an energy level structure in reasonable accord with previous theoretical and experimental studies. Preliminary open and closed shell quantum mechanical and quasiclassical trajectory scattering calculations are also performed on the new potential energy surface surface. The findings are discussed in the light of previous theoretical and experimental results for rotational energy transfer in collisions of OH(A (2)Sigma(+)) with Ar.     

The study of state-selected ion-molecule reactions using the vacuum ultraviolet pulsed field ionization-photoion technique

This paper presents the methodology to generate beams of ions in single quantum states for bimolecular ion-molecule reaction dynamics studies using pulsed field ionization (PFI) of atoms or molecules in high-n Rydberg states produced by vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) synchrotron or laser photoexcitation. Employing the pseudocontinuum high-resolution VUV synchrotron radiation at the Advanced Light Source as the photoionization source, PFI photoions (PFI-PIs) in selected rovibrational states have been generated for ion-molecule reaction studies using a fast-ion gate to pass the PFI-PIs at a fixed delay with respect to the detection of the PFI photoelectrons (PFI-PEs). The fast ion gate provided by a novel interleaved comb wire gate lens is the key for achieving the optimal signal-to-noise ratio in state-selected ion-molecule collision studies using the VUV synchrotron based PFI-PE secondary ion coincidence (PFI-PESICO) method. The most recent development of the VUV laser PFI-PI scheme for state-selected ion-molecule collision studies is also described. Absolute integral cross sections for state-selected H2+ ions ranging from v+ = 0 to 17 in collisions with Ar, Ne, and He at controlled translational energies have been obtained by employing the VUV synchrotron based PFI-PESICO scheme. The comparison between PFI-PESICO cross sections for the H2+(HD+)+Ne and H2+(HD+)+He proton-transfer reactions and theoretical cross sections based on quasiclassical trajectory (QCT) calculations and three-dimensional quantum scattering calculations performed on the most recently available ab initio potential energy surfaces is highlighted. In both reaction systems, quantum scattering resonances enhance the integral cross sections significantly above QCT predictions at low translational and vibrational energies. At higher energies, the agreement between experiment and quasiclassical theory is very good. The profile and magnitude of the kinetic energy dependence of the absolute integral cross sections for the H2+(v+ = 0-2,N+ = 1)+He proton-transfer reaction unambiguously show that the inclusion of Coriolis coupling is important in quantum dynamics scattering calculations of ion-molecule collisions.     

Exact quantum,quasiclassical forward and reverse reaction probabilities for a colldmear asymmetric model reaction

Detailed quasiclassical and time-independent quantum reaction probabilities are given for a surface on which large discrepancies between quasiclassical and wavepacket results have previously been found. The quasiclassical results are shown to agree relatively reasonably with the oscillation-averaged time-independent quantum ones if the quasiclassical reverse probabilities are chosen in the threshold region.     

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.     

On the dynamics of the H+ +D2(v=0,j=0)-->HD+D + reaction: a comparison between theory and experiment

The H+ +D2(v=0,j=0)-->HD+D + reaction has been theoretically investigated by means of a time independent exact quantum mechanical approach, a quantum wave packet calculation within an adiabatic centrifugal sudden approximation, a statistical quantum model, and a quasiclassical trajectory calculation. Besides reaction probabilities as a function of collision energy at different values of the total angular momentum, J, special emphasis has been made at two specific collision energies, 0.1 and 0.524 eV. The occurrence of distinctive dynamical behavior at these two energies is analyzed in some detail. An extensive comparison with previous experimental measurements on the Rydberg H atom with D2 molecules has been carried out at the higher collision energy. In particular, the present theoretical results have been employed to perform simulations of the experimental kinetic energy spectra.     

Theoretical insight into stereodynamics of the O(D) + H2 (v = 0–3, j = 0) → OH + H reaction: A quasiclassical trajectory (QCT) study

In this work, the reaction O(¹D) + H₂ → OH + H has been theoretically studied using the quasiclassical trajectory (QCT) method developed by Han and co-workers. All the quasiclassical trajectory calculations are performed on the DK (Dobbyn and Knowles) potential energy surface (PES). The vector correlation information on the reaction O(¹D) + H₂ → OH + H has been obtained. It has been demonstrated that the product alignment is sensitive to the reactant vibrational quantum number (v) at collision energy of 19 kcal/mol. Moreover, with increasing the value of v, backward scattering becomes weaker and forward scattering becomes stronger.     

Collision-induced dissociation in (He, H2(+)(v = 0-2; j = 0-3)) system: a time-dependent quantum mechanical investigation

The collision-induced process He + H(2)(+)(v = 0-2; j = 0-3) → He + H + H(+) has been investigated using a time-dependent quantum mechanical wave packet approach, within the centrifugal sudden approximation. The exchange reaction He + H(2)(+) → HeH(+) + H, which has a lower threshold, dominates over the dissociation process over the entire energy range considered in this study. The reaction cross section for both the exchange and dissociation channels and the branching ratio between the two channels have been computed on the McLaughlin-Thompson-Joseph-Sathyamurthy potential-energy surface and compared with the available experimental and quasiclassical trajectory results.     

Quantum and quasiclassical state-to-state dynamics of the NH + H reaction: competition between abstraction and exchange channels

Quantum and quasiclassical state-to-state dynamics for the NH + H' reaction at high collision energies up to 1.6 eV was studied on an accurate ab initio potential energy surface. Both of the endothermic abstraction (NH + H' → N + HH') and thermoneutral exchange (NH + H' → H + NH') channels were investigated from the same set of wave packets using an efficient coordinate transformation method. It is found that the abstraction represents a minor reaction channel in the energy range studied, primarily due to endothermicity. The cross section for the abstraction reaction increases monotonically with the collision energy, while that for the exchange reaction is relatively energy insensitive. As a result, the thermal rate constant for the abstraction reaction follows the Arrhenius law, where that for the exchange reaction is nearly temperature independent. Finally, it is shown that the quantum mechanical results can be reasonably reproduced by the Gaussian-binning quasiclassical trajectory method and to a lesser extent by a quantum statistical model.     

Synthesis of symmetrical tetraaryltetranaphtho[2,3]porphyrins

A new method of synthesis of meso-tetraaryltetranaphtho[2,3]porphyrins (Ar4TNP) has been developed. Ar4TNPs with peripheral functional groups are obtained by oxidative aromatization of meso-tetraarylporphyrins in which pyrrole units are fused with either octahydro- or dihydronaphthalene moieties. These precursor porphyrins are synthesized in four to five steps from readily available starting materials, such as naphthalene or 1,4-benzoquinone. The pathway originating in dihydronaphthalene, i.e., the "dialine" route, was found to be superior to the alternative "octaline"route in that it (1) enables the shortening of the overall reaction sequence, (2) has a broader scope in terms of the peripheral substitution in Ar4TNPs, and (3) affords higher yields of the target porphyrins. Pd complexes of the synthesized Ar4TNPs exhibit remarkably strong absorption bands at 710-720 nm (epsilon approximately 200,000 M(-1) cm(-1)) and phosphoresce at room temperature with moderate quantum yields (phi = 2-3%, lambda(max) = 900-1000 nm). The absorption maxima of naphthoporphyrins substituted with eight methoxy groups (Ar4TNP(OMe)8) were found to be about 15-20 nm red shifted compared to the corresponding maxima of unsubstituted Ar4TNPs. The X-ray crystallographic data suggest that these spectral shifts are caused not by the differences in nonplanar distortions of the macrocycles but by the purely electronic effects of the substituents.     

Complex autocorrelation function and energy spectrum by classical trajectory calculations

A quasiclassical method which enables evaluation of complex autocorrelation function from classical trajectory calculations is proposed. The method is applied for two highly excited nonlinearly coupled harmonic oscillators in regimes prevailed either by regular or chaotic classical motions. A good agreement of classical and quantum autocorrelation functions is found within short (Ehrnfest) time limit. Fourier transforms of the autocorrelation functions provide moderate resolved energy spectra, where classical and quantum results nearly coincide. The actual energy levels are obtained from approximate short-time autocorrelation functions with the help of filter diagonalization. This study is a follow up to our previous work [P. Zdanska and N. Moiseyev, J. Chem. Phys. 115, 10608 (2001)], where the complex autocorrelation has been obtained up to overall phase factors of recurrences.     

A statistical quasiclassical trajectory model for atom-diatom insertion reactions

A statistical model based on the quasiclassical trajectory method is presented in this work for atom-diatom insertion reactions. The basic difference between this and the corresponding statistical quantum model (SQM) lies in the fact that trajectories instead of wave functions are propagated in the entrance and exit channels. Other than this the two formulations are entirely similar. In particular, it is shown that conservation of parity can be taken into account in a natural and precise way in the statistical quasiclassical trajectory (SQCT) model. Additionally, the SQCT model complies with the principle of detailed balance and overcomes the problem of the zero point energy in the products. As a test, the model is applied to the H3+ and H+D2 exchange reactions. The excellent agreement between the SQCT and SQM results, especially in the case of the differential cross sections, indicates that the effect of tunneling through the centrifugal barrier is negligible. The effect of ignoring quantum mechanical parity conservation is also investigated.     

Competition between dissociation and exchange processes in a collinear A + BC collision: Comparison of quantum and classical results

Previous calculations on a reactive/dissociative H + HD model system have been extended to higher collision energies. Exact quantum dissociation probabilities are now available in the 1–10 eV total energy range for initial vibrational quantum numbers v = 0,1 and 2. Comparison with quasiclassical results shows the absence of quantum tails at dissociation threshold, but large quantum effects at higher energies.     

An adiabatic capture theory and quasiclassical trajectory study of C + NO and O + CN on the 2A', 2A", and 4A" potential energy surfaces

The adiabatic capture centrifugal sudden approximation (ACCSA) has been applied to the C + NO and O + CN reactions, along with quasiclassical trajectory simulations. Existing global analytic fits to the potential energy surfaces of the CNO system in the (2)A', (2)A", and (4)A" electronic states have been used. Thermal rate constants for reaction in each of the electronic states have been calculated. In all cases a strong temperature dependence is evident in the calculated rate constants. The agreement between the calculated adiabatic capture and quasiclassical trajectory rate constants is excellent in some cases, but these rate constants differ considerably in other cases. This behavior is analyzed in terms of the anisotropy of the potential energy surfaces. On the basis of this analysis, we propose a new diagnostic for the reliability of ACCSA capture calculations.     

Calculation of the rates of atomic reactions at low energies

The theory of binary atomic reactions is discussed. The matrix Schrödinger equation in the space of electron channels is used for the wave functions of the relative motion of the nuclei; this gives the corresponding quasiclassical equation by retention of terms linear in . Criterion (10) applies for quasiclassical nuclear motion. The additional restriction (13) causes the quasiclassical matrix equation (9) to go over to the basic equation (15) in the method of the central parameter, which indicates the region of application of that method. An Algol-60 program has been drawn up for calculating the rates of atomic reactions via the central-parameter or quasiclassical methods.     

Rate coefficient calculations on the three-dimensional D + HCl → DCl + H reaction using a new quantum-dynamical approximation

Rate coefficient calculations for the three-dimensional D + HCl→DC1 + H reaction are reported. A new quantum method is used, which involves applying the energy sudden approximation to the entrance channel and the centrifugal sudden approximation to the exit channel. Good agreement with quasiclassical results is obtained.     

Gaunt factors for free-free transitions in the fields of the first ions of the rare gases,calculated in the scaled Thomas-Fermi approximation

The Scaled Thomas-Fermi method is adapted to the case of positive energy states and used for the calculation of free-free transition probabilities and the corresponding temperature-averaged Gaunt factors of Ne I, Ar I, Kr I, and Xe I. The results are compared with those of the single-channel quantum defect method.