Model simulation of coherent laser control of the ultrafast spin-flip dynamics of matrix-isolated Cl2

Ultrafast intersystem crossing dynamics in uracil unravelled by ab initio molecular dynamics

Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations have been performed in order to investigate the relaxation dynamics of uracil after UV excitation in gas phase. Intersystem crossing (ISC) has been included for the first time into time-dependent simulations of uracil, allowing the system to relax in the singlet as well as in the triplet states. The results show a qualitatively different picture than similar simulations that include singlet states only. The inclusion of ISC effectively quenches the relaxation to the singlet ground state and instead privileges transitions from the low-lying nπ* state (S1) to a ππ* triplet state (T2) followed by rapid internal conversion to the lowest triplet state.

The Cl + H2 --> HCl + H reaction induced by IR + UV irradiation of Cl2 in solid para-H2: quantum model simulation

Recent experimental investigations by the group of D. T. Anderson (Kettwich, S. C.; Raston, P. L.; Anderson, D. T. J. Phys. Chem. A 2009, 113, DOI 10.1021/jp811206a) show that the reaction Cl + H(2) --> HCl + H in the para-H(2) crystal can be induced by infrared (IR) + ultraviolet (UV) coirradiations causing vibrational pre-excitation of the molecular reactant, H(2)(v=1), and generation of the atomic reactant, Cl((2)P(3/2)), by near-resonant photodissociation of a matrix-isolated Cl(2) molecule in the C (1)Pi(u) state, respectively. The corresponding reaction probability P(v=1) for the reactants Cl + H(2)(v=1) is approximately 0.15; this is approximately 25 times larger than P(v=0) for Cl + H(2)(v=0) (as initiated by pure UV irradiation). We present a simple three-step quantum model which accounts for some important parts of the experimental results and allows predictions for other scenarios, for example, UV photodissociation of the Cl(2) molecule by a laser pulse. The first step, vibrational pre-excitation of H(2), yields the molecular initial state which is described using the Einstein model of the para-H(2) crystal. The second step, photodissociation of Cl(2), generates the Cl((2)P(3/2)) atom approaching H(2)(v=1). In the third step, Cl reacts with H(2)(v=1) much more efficiently than with H(2)(v=0) close to threshold. The ultrashort time domains (approximately 100 fs) of steps 2 plus 3 support one- and then two-dimensional models of photodissociation of Cl(2) by short laser pulses and of the subsequent reaction of the system Cl-H-H embedded in frozen environments. The widths of the corresponding wave function describing the translational motion of the reactants is revealed as a significant parameter which is determined not only by the duration of the laser pulse but, even more importantly, by the width of the Gaussian-type distribution of the center of mass of the H(2) molecule in its Einstein cell. As a consequence, the resulting P(v) are quite robust versus variations of the UV pulse durations, allowing extrapolations to continuous wave irradiation. Quantum dynamics simulations of the reaction reveal that the experimental results are due to energetic and dynamical effects.

Dynamics of Electronic States and Spin−Flip for Photodissociation of Dihalogens in Matrices: Experiment and Semiclassical Surface-Hopping and Quantum Model Simulations for F2 and ClF in Solid Ar

Three approaches are combined to study the electronic states' dynamics in the photodissociation of F(2) and ClF in solid argon. These include (a) semiclassical surface-hopping simulations of the nonadiabatic processes involved. These simulations are carried out for the F(2) molecule in a slab of 255 argon atoms with periodic boundary conditions at the ends. The full manifold of 36 electronic states relevant to the process is included. (b) The second approach involves quantum mechanical reduced-dimensionality models for the initial processes induced by a pump laser pulse, which involve wavepacket propagation for the preoriented ClF in the frozen argon lattice and incorporate the important electronic states. The focus is on the study of quantum coherence effects. (c) The final approach is femtosecond laser pump-probe experiments for ClF in Ar. The combined results for the different systems shed light on general properties of the nonadiabatic processes involved, including the singlet to triplet and intertriplet transition dynamics. The main findings are (1) that the system remains in the initially excited-state only for a very brief, subpicosecond, time period. Thereafter, most of the population is transferred by nonadiabatic transitions to other states, with different time constants depending on the systems. (2) Another finding is that the dynamics is selective with regard to the electronic quantum numbers, including the Lambda and Omega quantum numbers, and the spin of the states. (3) The semiclassical simulations show that prior to the first "collision" of the photodissociated F atom with an Ar atom, the argon atoms can be held frozen, without affecting the process. This justifies the rigid-lattice reduced-dimensionality quantum model for a brief initial time interval. (4) Finally, degeneracies between triplets and singlets are fairly localized, but intertriplet degeneracies and near degeneracies can span an extensive range. The importance of quantum effects in photochemistry of matrix-isolated molecules is discussed in light of the results.

Design of UV laser pulses for the preparation of matrix isolated homonuclear diatomic molecules in selective vibrational superposition states

The preparation of matrix isolated homonuclear diatomic molecules in a vibrational superposition state c0Phie=1,v=0+cjPhie=1,v=j, with large (|c0|2 approximately 1) plus small contributions (|cj|2<<1) of the ground v=0 and specific v=j low excited vibrational eigenstates, respectively, in the electronic ground (e=1) state, and without any net population transfer to electronic excited (e>1) states, is an important challenge; it serves as a prerequisite for coherent spin control. For this purpose, the authors investigate two scenarios of laser pulse control, involving sequential or intrapulse pump- and dump-type transitions via excited vibronic states Phiex,k with a dominant singlet or triplet character. The mechanisms are demonstrated by means of quantum simulations for representative nuclear wave packets on coupled potential energy surfaces, using as an example a one-dimensional model for Cl2 in an Ar matrix. A simple three-state model (including Phi1,0, Phi1,j and Phiex,k) allows illuminating analyses and efficient determinations of the parameters of the laser pulses based on the values of the transition energies and dipole couplings of the transient state which are derived from the absorption spectra.