A generalized any particle propagator theory: Assessment of nuclear quantum effects on electron propagator calculations

In this work we propose an extended propagator theory for electrons and other types of quantum particles. This new approach has been implemented in the LOWDIN package and applied to sample calculations of atomic and small molecular systems to determine its accuracy and performance. As a first application of the method we have studied the nuclear quantum effects on electron ionization energies. We have observed that ionization energies of atoms are similar to those obtained with the electron propagator approach. However, for molecular systems containing hydrogen atoms there are improvements in the quality of the results with the inclusion of nuclear quantum effects. An energy term analysis has allowed us to conclude that nuclear quantum effects are important for zero order energies whereas propagator results correct the electron and electron-nuclear correlation terms. Results presented for a series of n-alkanes have revealed the potential of this method for the accurate calculation of ionization energies of a wide variety of molecular systems containing hydrogen nuclei. The proposed methodology will also be applicable to exotic molecular systems containing positrons or muons.     

Electron ionization cross sections for atomic subshells.

Ionization of atoms is the first step in many analytical procedures. The cross section for ionizing a particular atomic shell is essential for calculating the magnitude of analytical signals. Calculations using atomic wave functions for various shells of all elements relevant for X-ray microanalysis over a range of electron energies up to 400 keV were performed. The calculations for high energies above threshold can be considerably simplified by using the mathematical form of the Bethe ridge that dominates the scattering in this region. Corrections for exchange at low energies above threshold are incorporated in these calculations. A selection of results showing the effects of different approximations on ionization cross sections for K, L, and M shells is presented.     

Complete basis set, the MP2 ab initio, and hybrid density functional theory evaluation of ionization potential and electron affinity for PH, PH2, PHF, PF, and PF2

A systematic study was performed on the small molecular systems built from phosphor, hydrogen and fluorine with the target being to evaluate accurately their ionization potentials and electron affinities, as well as influence fluorine on the ionization potential of phosphor as a central atom. To determine the accuracy of hybrid density functional methods for computing those energies, ionization energies for hydrogen, fluorine and phosphor were calculated and compared with the experimental and CBSQ values. To demonstrate the accuracy of this method, both the ionization potential and the electron affinity for phosphorus and fluorine atoms were calculated and compared with the experimental data. For both PF and PF₂, an identical electron affinity of 0.72 eV and for PH and PHF 1.0 eV were suggested.     

Complete valence double photoionization of SF6

Single photon double ionization of SF(6) has been investigated at the photon energies 38.71, 40.814, and 48.372 eV by using a recently developed time-of-flight photoelectron-photoelectron coincidence spectroscopy technique which gives complete two-dimensional e(-)-e(-) spectra. The first complete single photon double ionization electron spectrum of SF(6) up to a binding energy of approximately 48 eV is presented and accurately interpreted with the aid of Green's function ADC(2) calculations. Spectra which reflect either mainly direct or mainly indirect (via interatomic coulombic decay of F 2s holes) double ionization of SF(6) are extracted from the coincidence map and discussed. A previous, very low value for the onset of double ionization of SF(6) is found to energetically coincide with a peak structure related to secondary inelastic scattering events.     

Chiral signatures in angle-resolved valence photoelectron spectroscopy of pure glycidol enantiomers

Photoionization of the chiral molecule glycidol has been investigated in the valence region. Photoelectron circular dichroism (PECD) curves have been obtained at various photon energies by using circularly polarized VUV synchrotron radiation and a velocity map imaging technique to record angle-resolved photoelectron spectra (PES). The measured chiral asymmetries vary dramatically with the photon energy as well as with the ionized orbital, improving the effective orbital resolution of the PECD spectrum with respect to the PES. Typical asymmetry factors of 5% are observed, but the peak values measured range up to 15%. The experimental results are interpreted by continuum multiple scattering (CMS-Xalpha) calculations for several thermally accessible glycidol conformers. We find that a nearly quantitative agreement between theory and experiments can be achieved for the ionization of several molecular orbitals. Owing to the sensitivity of PECD to molecular conformation this allows us to identify the dominant conformer. The influence of intramolecular hydrogen bond orbital polarization is found to play a small yet significant role in determining the chiral asymmetry in the electron angular distributions.     

Computational studies of nonstoichiometric sodium auride clusters

The molecular structures of low-lying isomers of anionic and neutral sodium auride clusters have been studied computationally at the second-order M?ller-Plesset perturbation theory level using quadruple-ζ basis sets augmented with a double set of polarization functions. The first vertical detachment energies were calculated at the M?ller-Plesset level as the energy difference between the cluster anion and the corresponding neutral cluster. The photodetachment energies of higher-lying ionization channels were calculated by adding electronic excitation energies of the neutral clusters to the first vertical detachment energy. The excitation energies were calculated at the linear response approximate coupled-cluster singles and doubles level using the anionic cluster structures. The obtained ionization energies for NaAu(-), NaAu(2)(-), NaAu(3)(-), NaAu(4)(-), Na(2)Au(2)(-), Na(2)Au(3)(-), Na(3)Au(3)(-), and Na(2)Au(4)(-) were compared to values deduced from experimental photoelectron spectra. Comparison of the calculated photoelectron spectra for a few energetically low-lying isomers shows that the energetically lowest cluster structures obtained in the calculations do not always correspond to the clusters produced experimentally. Spin-component-scaled second-order M?ller-Plesset perturbation theory calculations shift the order of the isomers such that the observed clusters more often correspond to the energetically lowest structure, whereas the spin-component-scaled approach does not improve the photodetachment energies of the sodium aurides. The potential energy surface of the sodium aurides is very soft, with several low-lying isomers requiring an accurate electron correlation treatment. The calculations show that merely the energetic criterion is not a reliable means to identify the structures of the observed sodium auride clusters; other experimental information is needed to ensure a correct assignment of the cluster structures. The cluster structures of nonstoichiometric anionic sodium aurides have been determined by comparing calculated ionization energies for low-lying structures of the anionic clusters with experimental data.     

Electron impact ionization of the noble gases in coplanar symmetric geometry over the energy range 100 to 1000 eV

Distorted-wave Born approximation calculations are reported for electron impact ionization of He, Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe in coplanar symmetric geometry at energies of 100, 500 and 1000 eV. Of special interest is double scattering effect at large angles.     

Atomic pseudopotentials for reproducing π-orbital electron behavior in sp2 carbon atoms

A pseudopotential system for an sp² carbon atom is built and tested as a building block for various pseudohydrocarbon polyenes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. This pseudosystem has a central charge of Z = 1; it contains only one electron. It is employed in ab-initio calculations in which several physical characteristics including the orbital energies and first ionization energy, as well as first excitation energy and UV spectra, are found to be well-reproduced by the pseudosystem. Remarkably, not only are the π excitation energies in good agreement with the reference calculations, but also transition densities and intensities, confirming that the virtual space obtained with the pseudopotentials is of excellent quality. Finally, this approach is capable of reproducing the π electron systems of small or large, planar or nonplanar hydrocarbons at low computational cost.     

Orbital energies and negative electron affinities from density functional theory: Insight from the integer discontinuity

Orbital energies in Kohn-Sham density functional theory (DFT) are investigated, paying attention to the role of the integer discontinuity in the exact exchange-correlation potential. A series of closed-shell molecules are considered, comprising some that vertically bind an excess electron and others that do not. High-level ab initio electron densities are used to calculate accurate orbital energy differences, Deltavarepsilon, between the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) and the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO), using the same potential for both. They are combined with accurate vertical ionization potentials, I(0), and electron affinities, A(0), to determine accurate "average" orbital energies. These are the orbital energies associated with an exchange-correlation potential that averages over a constant jump in the accurate potential, of magnitude Delta(XC)=(I(0)-A(0))-Deltavarepsilon, as given by the discontinuity analysis. Local functional HOMO energies are shown to be almost an order of magnitude closer to these average values than to -I(0), with typical discrepancies of just 0.02 a.u. For systems that do not bind an excess electron, this level of agreement is only achieved when A(0) is set equal to the negative experimental affinity from electron transmission spectroscopy (ETS); it degrades notably when the zero ground state affinity is instead used. Analogous observations are made for the local functional LUMO energies, although the need to use the ETS affinities is less pronounced for systems where the ETS values are very negative. The application of an asymptotic correction recovers the preference, leading to positive LUMO energies (but bound orbitals) for these systems, consistent with the behavior of the average energies. The asymptotically corrected LUMO energies typically agree with the average values to within 0.02 a.u., comparable to that observed with the HOMOs. The study provides numerical support for the view that local functionals exhibit a near-average behavior based on a constant jump of magnitude Delta(XC). It illustrates why a recently proposed DFT expression involving local functional frontier orbital energies and ionization potential yields reasonable estimates of negative ETS affinities and is consistent with earlier work on the failure of DFT for charge-transfer excited states. The near-average behavior of the exchange-correlation potential is explicitly illustrated for selected systems. The nature of hybrid functional orbital energies is also mentioned, and the results of the study are discussed in terms of the variation in electronic energy as a function of electron number. The nature of DFT orbital energies is of great importance in chemistry; this study contributes to the understanding of these quantities.     

Total dissociative electron attachment cross sections of selected amino acids

Total dissociative electron attachment cross sections are presented for the amino acids, glycine, alanine, proline, phenylalanine, and tryptophan, at energies below the first ionization energy. Cross section magnitudes were determined by observation of positive ion production and normalization to ionization cross sections calculated using the binary-encounter-Bethe method. The prominent 1.2 eV feature in the cross sections of the amino acids and the closely related HCOOH molecule is widely attributed to the attachment into the -COOH pi* orbital. The authors discuss evidence that direct attachment to the lowest sigma* orbital may instead be responsible. A close correlation between the energies of the core-excited anion states of glycine, alanine, and proline and the ionization energies of the neutral molecules is found. A prominent feature in the total dissociative electron attachment cross section of these compounds is absent in previous studies using mass analysis, suggesting that the missing fragment is energetic H-.     

Scattering of N(2)O on electron impact over an extensive energy range (0.1 eV-2000 eV)

We report electron impact total cross sections, Q(T), for e-N(2)O scattering over an extensive range of impact energies approximately from 0.1 eV to 2000 eV. We employ an ab initio calculation using R-matrix formalism below the ionization threshold of the target and above it we use the well established spherical complex optical potential to compute the cross sections. Total cross section is obtained as a sum of total elastic and total electronic excitation cross sections below the ionization threshold and above the ionization threshold as a sum of total elastic and total inelastic cross sections. Ample cross section data for e-N(2)O scattering are available at low impact energies and hence meaningful comparisons are made. Good agreement is observed with the available theoretical as well as experimental results over the entire energy range studied here.     

Excitation-energy dependence of the mechanism for two-photon ionization of liquid H(2)O and D(2)O from 8.3 to 12.4 eV

Transient absorption measurements monitor the geminate recombination kinetics of solvated electrons following two-photon ionization of liquid water at several excitation energies in the range from 8.3 to 12.4 eV. Modeling the kinetics of the electron reveals its average ejection length from the hydronium ion and hydroxyl radical counterparts and thus provides insight into the ionization mechanism. The electron ejection length increases monotonically from roughly 0.9 nm at 8.3 eV to nearly 4 nm at 12.4 eV, with the increase taking place most rapidly above 9.5 eV. We connect our results with recent advances in the understanding of the electronic structure of liquid water and discuss the nature of the ionization mechanism as a function of excitation energy. The isotope dependence of the electron ejection length provides additional information about the ionization mechanism. The electron ejection length has a similar energy dependence for two-photon ionization of liquid D(2)O, but is consistently shorter than in H(2)O by about 0.3 nm across the wide range of excitation energies studied.     

Evaluation of elastic‐scattering cross sections for electrons and positrons over a wide energy range

Quantification of surface‐ and bulk‐analytical methods, e.g. Auger‐electron spectroscopy (AES), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), electron‐probe microanalysis (EPMA), and analytical electron microscopy (AEM), requires knowledge of reliable elastic‐scattering cross sections for describing electron transport in solids. Cross sections for elastic scattering of electrons and positrons by atoms, ions, and molecules can be calculated with the recently developed code ELSEPA (Elastic Scattering of Electrons and Positrons by Atoms) for kinetic energies of the projectile from 10 eV to 50 eV. These calculations can be made after appropriate selection of the basic input parameters: electron‐density distribution, a model for the nuclear‐charge distribution, and a model for the electron‐exchange potential (the latter option applies only to scattering of electrons). Additionally, the correlation‐polarization potential and an imaginary absorption potential can be considered in the calculations. We report comparisons of calculated differential elastic‐scattering cross sections (DCSs) for silicon and gold at selected energies (500 eV, 5 keV, 30 keV) relevant to AES, XPS, EPMA, and AEM, and at 100 MeV as a limiting case. The DCSs for electrons and positrons differ considerably, particularly for medium‐ and high‐atomic‐number elements and for kinetic energies below about 5 keV. The DCSs for positrons are always monotonically decreasing functions of the scattering angle, while the DCSs for electrons have a diffraction‐like structure with several minima and maxima. A significant influence of the electron‐exchange correction is observed at 500 eV. The correlation‐polarization correction is significant for small scattering angles at 500 eV, while the absorption correction is important at energies below about 10 keV. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Shannon information entropy of fractional occupation probability as an electron correlation measure in atoms and molecules

A new method to determine electron correlation energy is presented for atoms and molecules. This method is based on Shannon information entropy that is obtained by fractional occupation probabilities of natural atomic orbitals. It is indicated that the Shannon entropy increases as the number of electrons increases and thus can be considered as a possible measure for the electron correlation in atomic and molecular systems. For neutral atoms and singly charged positive ions we proposed an expression for correlation energy with explicit dependence on the Shannon entropy and atomic number. The obtained correlation energies have been used to compute the first ionization potentials of the ground state of the main group elements from hydrogen through krypton. The calculated ionization potentials are in reasonably good agreement with their corresponding experimental values.We also developed the additivity scheme to find a connection between Shannon entropy and molecular correlation energy. The estimated molecular correlation energies show an excellent agreement with those obtained by elaborate G3 method with R² = 0.990.     

Ionization energies of hypervalent Li2F,Li2Cl and Na2Cl molecules obtained by surface ionization electron impact neutralization mass spectrometry

Ionization energies of hypervalent Li(2)F, Li(2)Cl and Na(2)Cl molecules detected by surface ionization electron impact neutralization mass spectrometry are reported. The ionization energies were 3.78 +/- 0.2 eV for Li(2)F, 4.93 +/- 0.2 eV for Li(2)Cl, and 4.21 +/- 0.2 eV for Na(2)Cl. The ionization energies (IE) agree with theoretical ionization energies calculated by ab initio methods, supporting the theoretical prediction that Li(2)F has a hyperlithiated configuration in which the odd electron delocalizes over the two lithiums and with photoionization measurement. The first ionization energy of Na(2)Cl was experimentally confirmed earlier and for Li(2)Cl as well.8 We have developed and used this new approach for the problem--in the present work ions were first formed by surface ionization, followed by electron attachment (neutralization).     

Electron screening in low energy scattering of muonic hydrogen on hydrogen atoms

Electron screening corrections to the cross sections for low energy scattering of muonic hydrogen on hydrogen atoms are calculated. It is shown that the presence of the electron influences considerably the elastic cross sections at collision energies below 1 eV. This influence is relatively small for the spin-flip and isotopic exchange processes.     

Electron scattering from perfluorocyclobutane (c-C4F8)

We report experimental results for electron scattering from perfluorocyclobutane, c-C(4)F(8), obtained from measurements in our two laboratories. A set of differential, integral, and momentum transfer cross sections is provided for elastic scattering for incident electron energies from 1.5 to 100 eV. Inelastic scattering (vibrational excitation) cross sections have been measured for incident electron energies of 1.5, 2, 5, 6, and 7 eV. In order to investigate the role of intermediate negative ions (resonances) in the scattering process we have also measured an excitation function for elastic scattering and vibrational excitation of the ground electronic state of C(4)F(8) for incident energies between 0.6 and 20 eV. These results are compared with the limited amount of data available in the literature for scattering from this molecule.     

Probing molecular conformations in momentum space: the case of n-pentane

A comprehensive study, throughout the valence region, of the electronic structure and electron momentum density distributions of the four conformational isomers of n-pentane is presented. Theoretical (e,2e) valence ionization spectra at high electron impact energies (1200 eV+electron binding energy) and at azimuthal angles ranging from 0 degrees to 10 degrees in a noncoplanar symmetric kinematical setup are generated according to the results of large scale one-particle Green's function calculations of Dyson orbitals and related electron binding energies, using the third-order algebraic-diagrammatic construction [ADC(3)] scheme. The results of a focal point analysis (FPA) of relative conformer energies [A. Salam and M. S. Deleuze, J. Chem. Phys. 116, 1296 (2002)] and improved thermodynamical calculations accounting for hindered rotations are also employed in order to quantitatively evaluate the abundance of each conformer in the gas phase at room temperature and reliably predict the outcome of experiments on n-pentane employing high resolution electron momentum spectroscopy. Comparison with available photoelectron measurements confirms the suggestion that, due to entropy effects, the trans-gauche (tg) conformer strongly dominates the conformational mixture characterizing n-pentane at room temperature. Our simulations demonstrate therefore that experimental measurements of (e,2e) valence ionization spectra and electron momentum distributions would very consistently and straightforwardly image the topological changes and energy variations that molecular orbitals undergo due to torsion of the carbon backbone. The strongest fingerprints for the most stable conformer (tt) are found for the electron momentum distributions associated with ionization channels at the top of the inner-valence region, which sensitively image the development of methylenic hyperconjugation in all-staggered n-alkane chains.     

Direct determination of the ionization energies of FeO and CuO with VUV radiation

Photoionization efficiency curves were measured for gas-phase FeO and CuO using tunable vacuum-ultraviolet radiation at the Advanced Light Source. The molecules are prepared using laser ablation of a metal-oxide powder in a novel high-repetition-rate source and are thermally moderated in a supersonic expansion. These measurements provide the first directly measured ionization energy for CuO, IE(CuO)=9.41 +/- 0.01 eV. The direct measurement also gives a greatly improved ionization energy for FeO, IE(FeO) = 8.56 +/- 0.01 eV. The ionization energy connects the dissociation energies of the neutral and cation, leading to a refined bond strength for the FeO cation: D0(Fe(+)-O)=3.52 +/- 0.02 eV. A dramatic increase in the photoionization cross section at energies of 0.36 eV above the threshold ionization energy is assigned to autoionization and direct ionization involving one or more low-lying quartet states of FeO+. The interaction between the sextet ground state and low-lying quartet states of FeO+ is key to understanding the oxidation of hydrogen and methane by FeO+, and these experiments provide the first experimental observation of the low-lying quartet states of FeO+.