Novel variational principles of chemical reaction

An effective one-dimensional approach to calculating mean first passage time in multi-dimensional potentials

Thermally activated escape processes in multi-dimensional potentials are of interest to a variety of fields, so being able to calculate the rate of escape-or the mean first-passage time (MFPT)-is important. Unlike in one dimension, there is no general, exact formula for the MFPT. However, Langer's formula, a multi-dimensional generalization of Kramers's one-dimensional formula, provides an approximate result when the barrier to escape is large. Kramers's and Langer's formulas are related to one another by the potential of mean force (PMF): when calculated along a particular direction (the unstable mode at the saddle point) and substituted into Kramers's formula, the result is Langer's formula. We build on this result by using the PMF in the exact, one-dimensional expression for the MFPT. Our model offers better agreement with Brownian dynamics simulations than Langer's formula, although discrepancies arise when the potential becomes less confining along the direction of escape. When the energy barrier is small our model offers significant improvements upon Langer's theory. Finally, the optimal direction along which to evaluate the PMF no longer corresponds to the unstable mode at the saddle point.

Principal interacting spin orbital: understanding the fragment interactions in open-shell systems

Due to the recent rise in the interest and research efforts on first-row transition metal catalysis and other radical-related reactions, open-shell systems play a much more important role in modern chemistry. However, the development of bonding analysis tools for open-shell systems is still lagging behind. In this work, we present the principal interacting spin orbital (PISO) analysis, which is an analysis framework developed based on our previously reported principal interacting orbital (PIO) analysis. We will demonstrate the power of our framework to analyse different kinds of open-shell systems, ranging from simple organic radicals to much more complicated coordination complexes, from which we can see how different kinds of odd-electron bonds could be identified. We will also illustrate its advantage when used in the analysis of chemical reactions, through which we can observe subtle patterns that could be helpful for tuning or rational design of related reactions.

Identification of simple reaction coordinates from complex dynamics

Reaction coordinates are widely used throughout chemical physics to model and understand complex chemical transformations. We introduce a definition of the natural reaction coordinate, suitable for condensed phase and biomolecular systems, as a maximally predictive one-dimensional projection. We then show that this criterion is uniquely satisfied by a dominant eigenfunction of an integral operator associated with the ensemble dynamics. We present a new sparse estimator for these eigenfunctions which can search through a large candidate pool of structural order parameters and build simple, interpretable approximations that employ only a small number of these order parameters. Example applications with a small molecule's rotational dynamics and simulations of protein conformational change and folding show that this approach can filter through statistical noise to identify simple reaction coordinates from complex dynamics.

The reaction path intrinsic reaction coordinate method and the Hamilton-Jacobi theory

The definition and location of an intrinsic reaction coordinate path is of crucial importance in many areas of theoretical chemistry. Differential equations used to define the path hitherto are complemented in this study with a variational principle of Fermat type, as Fukui [Int. J. Quantum Chem., Quantum Chem. Symp. 15, 633 (1981)] reported in a more general form some time ago. This definition is more suitable for problems where initial and final points are given. The variational definition can naturally be recast into a Hamilton-Jacobi equation. The character of the variational solution is studied via the Weierstrass necessary and sufficient conditions. The characterization of the local minima character of the intrinsic reaction coordinate is proved. Such result leads to a numerical algorithm to find intrinsic reaction coordinate paths based on the successive minimizations of the Weierstrass E-function evaluated on a guess curve connecting the initial and final points of the desired path.