Chemical Reaction Rates from Ring Polymer Molecular Dynamics: Zero Point Energy Conservation in Mu + H2 → MuH + H

A fundamental issue in the field of reaction dynamics is the inclusion of the quantum mechanical (QM) effects such as zero point energy (ZPE) and tunneling in molecular dynamics simulations, and in particular in the calculation of chemical reaction rates. In this work we study the chemical reaction between a muonium atom and a hydrogen molecule. The recently developed ring polymer molecular dynamics (RPMD) technique is used, and the results are compared with those of other methods. For this reaction, the thermal rate coefficients calculated with RPMD are found to be in excellent agreement with the results of an accurate QM calculation. The very minor discrepancies are within the convergence error even at very low temperatures. This exceptionally good agreement can be attributed to the dominant role of ZPE in the reaction, which is accounted for extremely well by RPMD. Tunneling only plays a minor role in the reaction.

Taking Ockham's razor to enzyme dynamics and catalysis

The role of protein dynamics in enzyme catalysis is a matter of intense current debate. Enzyme-catalysed reactions that involve significant quantum tunnelling can give rise to experimental kinetic isotope effects with complex temperature dependences, and it has been suggested that standard statistical rate theories, such as transition-state theory, are inadequate for their explanation. Here we introduce aspects of transition-state theory relevant to the study of enzyme reactivity, taking cues from chemical kinetics and dynamics studies of small molecules in the gas phase and in solution--where breakdowns of statistical theories have received significant attention and their origins are relatively better understood. We discuss recent theoretical approaches to understanding enzyme activity and then show how experimental observations for a number of enzymes may be reproduced using a transition-state-theory framework with physically reasonable parameters. Essential to this simple model is the inclusion of multiple conformations with different reactivity.