Time-dependent quantum theory II. Absorption of light by dimers: Quantum theory and classical analogy

The quantum theory of light absorption by a pair of neighboring absorbers is developed in the point dipole approximation for the circumstance where excited states decay only by radiative damping. Comparison with classical local field theories, in which the monomers are represented by constant, frequency-dependent complex polarizabilities, shows that these local field theories are valid for non-harmonic absorbers only in the weak interaction limit, and only when there exist no states with both monomers simultaneously excited (e.g. one excited vibrationally, the other electronically) that are nearly degenerate with the single excitation states and also connected to them by appreciable transition moments. Failure of the local field theories is, thus, shown to be a consequence of the non-harmonic nature of real absorbers. Using a general relation between the level-shift function and complex polarizability, a recipe is formulated for calculating the complex polarizability and spectrum of a dimer.     

Longitudinal polarizability of long polymeric chains: quasi-one-dimensional electrostatics as the origin of slow convergence

The longitudinal linear polarizability alpha(N) of a stereoregular oligomer of size N is proportional to N in the large-N limit, provided the system is nonconducting in that limit. It has long been known that the convergence of alpha(N)/N to the asymptotic alpha(infinity) value is slow. We show that the leading term in the difference between alpha(N)/N and alpha(infinity) is of the order of 1/N. The difference [alpha(N)-alpha(N-1)], as well as alpha(center)(N) (when computationally accessible), also converge to alpha(infinity), but faster, the leading term being of the order of 1/N(2). We also present evidence that in these cases the power law convergence behavior is due to quasi-one-dimensional electrostatics, with one exception. Specifically, in molecular systems the difference between alpha(N)/N and alpha(infinity) has not just one but two sources of the O(1/N) term, with one being due to the aforementioned Coulomb interactions, and the second due to the short ranged exponentially decaying perturbations on chain ends. The major role of electrostatics in the convergence of the remainders is demonstrated by means of a Clausius-Mossotti-type classical model. The conclusions derived from the model are also shown to be applicable in molecular systems, by means of test-case ab initio calculations on linear stacks of H(2) molecules, and on polyacetylene chains. The implications of the modern theory of polarization for extended systems are also discussed.     

Transition probabilities of a string oscillator subject to impulsive collisions with a heavy mass point

Impulsive linear collisions between a string oscillator (a one-dimensional particle in a box) and a mass point are studied quantum mechanically. In the limit of a very heavy mass point (which corresponds classically to many collisions during a single encounter) the transition probabilities are determined exactly. The result permits a discussion of the mixed quantum-classical regime where the collider becomes almost classical while the oscillator remains quantum mechanical. While the average transition probabilities P(m-->n) are well reproduced by the Ehrenfest mean-field approximation, the prediction for the superimposed high-frequency resonance structure is qualitatively wrong for a genuine quantum oscillator. Only if the oscillator is also almost classical and if (m-n)2 square root(mu) < m, where mu is the mass ratio collider/oscillator, this structure is correctly predicted by the Ehrenfest approximation.     

Extended hydrodynamic approach to quantum-classical nonequilibrium evolution. I. Theory

A mixed quantum-classical formulation is developed for a quantum subsystem in strong interaction with an N-particle environment, to be treated as classical in the framework of a hydrodynamic representation. Starting from the quantum Liouville equation for the N-particle distribution and the corresponding reduced single-particle distribution, exact quantum hydrodynamic equations are obtained for the momentum moments of the single-particle distribution coupled to a discretized quantum subsystem. The quantum-classical limit is subsequently taken and the resulting hierarchy of equations is further approximated by various closure schemes. These include, in particular, (i) a Grad-Hermite-type closure, (ii) a Gaussian closure at the level of a quantum-classical local Maxwellian distribution, and (iii) a dynamical density functional theory approximation by which the hydrodynamic pressure term is replaced by a free energy functional derivative. The latter limit yields a mixed quantum-classical formulation which has previously been introduced by I. Burghardt and B. Bagchi, Chem. Phys. 134, 343 (2006).     

Classical kinetic energy,quantum fluctuation terms and kinetic-energy functionals

We employ a recently formulated dequantization procedure to obtain an exact expression for the kinetic energy which is applicable to all kinetic-energy functionals. We express the kinetic energy of an N-electron system as the sum of an N-electron classical kinetic energy and an N-electron purely quantum kinetic energy arising from the quantum fluctuations that turn the classical momentum into the quantum momentum. This leads to an interesting analogy with Nelson’s stochastic approach to quantum mechanics, which we use to conceptually clarify the physical nature of part of the kinetic-energy functional in terms of statistical fluctuations and in direct correspondence with Fisher Information Theory. We show that the N-electron purely quantum kinetic energy can be written as the sum of the (one-electron) Weizsäcker term and an (N?1)-electron kinetic correlation term. We further show that the Weizsäcker term results from local fluctuations while the kinetic correlation term results from the nonlocal fluctuations. We then write the N-electron classical kinetic energy as the sum of the (one-electron) classical kinetic energy and another (N?1)-electron kinetic correlation term. For one-electron orbitals (where kinetic correlation is neglected) we obtain an exact (albeit impractical) expression for the noninteracting kinetic energy as the sum of the classical kinetic energy and the Weizsäcker term. The classical kinetic energy is seen to be explicitly dependent on the electron phase, and this has implications for the development of accurate orbital-free kinetic-energy functionals. Also, there is a direct connection between the classical kinetic energy and the angular momentum and, across a row of the periodic table, the classical kinetic energy component of the noninteracting kinetic energy generally increases as Z increases. Finally, we underline that, although our aim in this paper is conceptual rather than practical, our results are potentially useful for the construction of improved kinetic-energy functionals.     

Does ℏ play a role in multidimensional spectroscopy? Reduced hierarchy equations of motion approach to molecular vibrations

To investigate the role of quantum effects in vibrational spectroscopies, we have carried out numerically exact calculations of linear and nonlinear response functions for an anharmonic potential system nonlinearly coupled to a harmonic oscillator bath. Although one cannot carry out the quantum calculations of the response functions with full molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for a realistic system which consists of many molecules, it is possible to grasp the essence of the quantum effects on the vibrational spectra by employing a model Hamiltonian that describes an intra- or intermolecular vibrational motion in a condensed phase. The present model fully includes vibrational relaxation, while the stochastic model often used to simulate infrared spectra does not. We have employed the reduced quantum hierarchy equations of motion approach in the Wigner space representation to deal with nonperturbative, non-Markovian, and nonsecular system-bath interactions. Taking the classical limit of the hierarchy equations of motion, we have obtained the classical equations of motion that describe the classical dynamics under the same physical conditions as in the quantum case. By comparing the classical and quantum mechanically calculated linear and multidimensional spectra, we found that the profiles of spectra for a fast modulation case were similar, but different for a slow modulation case. In both the classical and quantum cases, we identified the resonant oscillation peak in the spectra, but the quantum peak shifted to the red compared with the classical one if the potential is anharmonic. The prominent quantum effect is the 1-2 transition peak, which appears only in the quantum mechanically calculated spectra as a result of anharmonicity in the potential or nonlinearity of the system-bath coupling. While the contribution of the 1-2 transition is negligible in the fast modulation case, it becomes important in the slow modulation case as long as the amplitude of the frequency fluctuation is small. Thus, we observed a distinct difference between the classical and quantum mechanically calculated multidimensional spectra in the slow modulation case where spectral diffusion plays a role. This fact indicates that one may not reproduce the experimentally obtained multidimensional spectrum for high-frequency vibrational modes based on classical molecular dynamics simulations if the modulation that arises from surrounding molecules is weak and slow. A practical way to overcome the difference between the classical and quantum simulations was discussed.     

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.     

The effect of a mechanical force on quantum reaction rate: quantum Bell formula

The purpose of this note is to derive a quantum-mechanical analog of Bell's formula, which describes the sensitivity of a chemical reaction to a mechanical pulling force. According to this formula, the reaction rate depends exponentially on the force f, i.e., k(f) ~ exp(f/f(c)), where the force scale f(c) is estimated as the thermal energy k(B)T divided by a distance a between the reactant and transition states along the pulling coordinate. Here I use instanton theory to show that, at low temperatures where quantum tunneling is dominant, this force scale becomes f(c) ~ ?ω/a (in the limit where frictional damping is absent) or f(c) ~ ?τ(-1)/a (in the strong damping limit). Here ω is a characteristic vibration frequency along the pulling coordinate and τ is a characteristic relaxation time in the reactant state. That is, unlike the classical case where f(c) is unaffected by dissipation, this force scale becomes friction dependent in the quantum limit. I further derive higher-order corrections in the force dependence of the rate, describe generalizations to many degrees of freedom, and discuss connection to other quantum rate theories.     

Massively parallel spin–orbit configuration interaction

We describe a new approach to incorporating quantum effects into chemical reaction rate theory using quantum trajectories. Our development is based on the entangled trajectory molecular dynamics method for simulating quantum processes using trajectory integration and ensemble averaging. By making dynamical approximations similar to those underlying classical transition state theory, quantum corrections are incorporated analytically into the quantum rate expression. We focus on a simple model of quantum decay in a metastable system and consider the deep tunneling limit where the classical rate vanishes and the process is entirely quantum mechanical. We compare our approximate estimate with the well-known WKB tunneling rate and find qualitative agreement.     

Quantitative structure-property relationships for longitudinal, transverse, and molecular static polarizabilities in polyynes

The present work reports for the first time quantitative structure-property relationships, derived at the benchmark CCSD(T)/cc-PVTZ level of theory that estimate the static longitudinal, transverse, and molecular polarizability in polyynes (C2nH2), as a function of their length (L). In the case of independent electron models, regardless of the form of the nuclei potential that the electrons experience, the polarizability increases strongly with system size, scaling as L(4). In contrast, the static longitudinal polarizability in polyynes have a considerably weaker length-dependence (L(1.64)). This is shown to predominantly arise from electron-electron repulsion rather than electron correlation by a systematic study of the polarizability length dependence in several simple quantum mechanical systems (e.g., particle-in-box, simple harmonic oscillator) and other molecular systems (e.g., H2, H2(+), polyynes). Decrease of the electron-electron repulsion term is suggested to be the key factor in enhancing nonlinear polarizability characteristics of linear oligomeric and polymeric materials.     

Fully retarded van der Waals interaction between dielectric nanoclusters

The van der Waals (dispersion) interaction between an atom and a cluster or between two clusters at large separation is calculated by considering each cluster as a point particle, characterized by a polarizability tensor. For the extreme limit of very large separation, the fully retarded regime, one needs to know just the static polarizability in order to determine the interaction. This polarizability is evaluated by including all many-body (MB) intracluster atomic interactions self-consistently. The results of these calculations are compared with those obtained from various alternative methods. One is to consider each cluster as a collection of many atoms and evaluate the sum of two-body interatomic interactions, a common assumption. An alternative method is to include three-body atomic interactions as a MB correction term in the total energy. A comparison of these results reveals that the contribution of the higher-than-three-body MB interactions is always attractive and non-negligible even at such a large separation, in contrast to common assumptions. The procedure employed is quite general and is applicable, in principle, to any shape or size of dielectric cluster. We present numerical results for clusters composed of atoms with polarizability consistent with silica, for which the higher-than-three-body MB correction term can be as high as 42% of the atomic pairwise sum. This result is quite sensitive to the anisotropy and orientation of the cluster, in contrast to the result found in the additive case. We also present a power law expansion of the total van der Waals interaction as a series of n-body interaction terms.     

Some aspects of vibronic coupling in circular dichroism

After a review of the quantum mechanical formulation of vibrational-electronic coupling, the adiabatic approximations for ordinary absorption dipole strength and circular dichroic absorption rotatory strength are presented and interpreted. The expressions include the effect of two vibrational quantum changes coupled to electronic excitation in addition to the more familiar concept of coupling by a one quantum change. A polarizability theory of vibronically coupled rotatory strength is presented which is comparable to the polarizability theory of rotatory strength without regard to vibration.     

Stochastic dissociation of diatomic molecules

The fragmentation of diatomic molecules under a stochastic force is investigated both classically and quantum mechanically, focusing on their dissociation probabilities. It is found that the quantum system is more robust than the classical one in the limit of a large number of kicks. The opposite behavior emerges for a small number of kicks. Quantum and classical dissociation probabilities do not coincide for any parameter combinations of the force. This can be attributed to a scaling property in the classical system which is broken quantum mechanically.     

Quasiclassical trajectory study of reactive and dissociative processes in H2+H2: comparison with quantum-mechanical calculations

Quasiclassical trajectory calculations have been carried out for H(2)(v(1)=high)+H(2)(v(2)=low) collisions within a three degrees of freedom model where five different geometries of the colliding complex were considered. Within this approach, probabilities for different competitive processes are studied: four center reaction, collision induced dissociation, reactive dissociation, and three-body complex formation. The purpose is to compare in detail with equivalent quantum-mechanical wave packet calculations [Bartolomei et al., J. Chem. Phys 122, 064305 (2005)], especially the behavior of the probabilities near reaction thresholds. Quasiclassical calculations compare quite well with the quantum-mechanical ones for collision induced dissociation as well as for the four center reaction, although quantum effects become very important near thresholds, particularly for lower v(1)'s and for the four center process. Less quantitative agreement is found for reactive dissociation and three-body complex formation. It is found that most quantum effects are due to differences between quantum and classical vibrational distributions of H(2)(v(1)=high). Zero point energy violation has been found in the classical reactive-dissociative probabilities. Extension of these findings to full-dimensional treatments is examined.     

Electronic polarization effect on low-frequency infrared and Raman spectra of aprotic solvent: molecular dynamics simulation study with charge response kernel by second order Møller-Plesset perturbation method

Low-frequency infrared (IR) and depolarized Raman scattering (DRS) spectra of acetonitrile, methylene chloride, and acetone liquids are simulated via molecular dynamics calculations with the charge response kernel (CRK) model obtained at the second order M?ller-Plesset perturbation (MP2) level. For this purpose, the analytical second derivative technique for the MP2 energy is employed to evaluate the CRK matrices. The calculated IR spectra reasonably agree with the experiments. In particular, the agreement is excellent for acetone because the present CRK model well reproduces the experimental polarizability in the gas phase. The importance of interaction induced dipole moments in characterizing the spectral shapes is stressed. The DRS spectrum of acetone is mainly discussed because the experimental spectrum is available only for this molecule. The calculated spectrum is close to the experiment. The comparison of the present results with those by the multiple random telegraph model is also made. By decomposing the polarizability anisotropy time correlation function to the contributions from the permanent, induced polarizability and their cross term, a discrepancy from the previous calculations is observed in the sign of permanent-induce cross term contribution. The origin of this discrepancy is discussed by analyzing the correlation functions for acetonitrile.     

The classical collision induced light absorption coefficient for inert gas systems

The collision induced light absorption for a model proposed by Levine and Birnbaum and extended by Weiss is calculated by linear response theory and is shown to be equivalent to their Kirchhoff law treatment. It is also demonstrated that this result is the classical limit of the quantum mechanical expression.     

The discrete representation correspondence between quantum and classical spatial distributions of angular momentum vectors

This work demonstrates that the quantum mechanical moments of a state described by the density matrix correspond to discrete spherical harmonic moments of the classical multipole expansion of the spatial distribution of the angular momentum vectors. For the diagonal density matrix elements, this work exploits the fact that the quantum mechanical vector coupling (Clebsch-Gordan) coefficients become increasingly accurate discrete representations of spherical harmonics as j increases. A Schwinger-type basis accounts for nonaxially symmetric angular distributions, which result in nonzero off-diagonal elements of the density matrix. The resulting discrete minimum uncertainty picture of the classical moments has a stringent equivalence with the quantum mechanical one for all j and provides an unambiguous connection for the classical and quantum moments in the large j limit. The equivalence is numerically tested for simple models, and there is a satisfying equivalence even for small j. Applications, implications, and extensions are indicated, and the relevance of this work for the interpretation of classical mechanical simulations of inelastic and reactive molecular collisions will be documented elsewhere.