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Cederbaum LS, Kuleff AI. Stimulated Emission of Virtual Photons: Energy Transfer by Light. J Phys Chem Lett 2024; 15:7357-7362. [PMID: 38990327 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c01191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/12/2024]
Abstract
Energy-transfer processes can be viewed as being due to the emission of a virtual photon. It is demonstrated that the emission of virtual photons and thus of energy transfer is stimulated by the sheer presence of photons. We concentrate here on interatomic/intermolecular Coulombic decay (ICD) where an excited system relaxes by transferring its excess energy to a neighbor ionizing it. ICD is inactive if this excess energy is insufficiently large. However, in the presence of photons, the long-range interaction between the system and its neighbor can utilize the photon field making ICD active. The properties of this stimulated-ICD mechanism are discussed. The concept can be transferred to other scenarios. We discuss collective-ICD where two excited molecules concertedly transfer their excess energy. Also here, the presence of photons can make the process active if the sum of excess energies were insufficient to do so. Examples with typical molecules and atoms are presented to demonstrate that these stimulated processes can play a role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenz S Cederbaum
- Theoretische Chemie, Physikalisch-Chemisches Institut, Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 229, Heidelberg D-69120, Germany
| | - Alexander I Kuleff
- Theoretische Chemie, Physikalisch-Chemisches Institut, Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 229, Heidelberg D-69120, Germany
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2
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Zhou J, Jia S, Xue X, Skitnevskaya AD, Wang E, Wang X, Hao X, Zeng Q, Kuleff AI, Dorn A, Ren X. Revealing the Role of N Heteroatoms in Noncovalent Aromatic Interactions by Ultrafast Intermolecular Coulombic Decay. J Phys Chem Lett 2024; 15:1529-1538. [PMID: 38299504 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c02979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
Abstract
Despite the widely recognized importance of noncovalent interactions involving aromatic rings in many fields, our understanding of the underlying forces and structural patterns, especially the impact of heteroaromaticity, is still incomplete. Here, we investigate the relaxation processes that follow inner-valence ionization in a range of molecular dimers involving various combinations of benzene, pyridine, and pyrimidine, which initiate an ultrafast intermolecular Coulombic decay process. Multiparticle coincidence momentum spectroscopy, combined with ab initio calculations, enables us to explore the principal orientations of these fundamental dimers and, thus, to elucidate the influence of N heteroatoms on the relative preference of the aromatic π-stacking, H-bonding, and CH-π interactions and their dependence on the number of nitrogen atoms in the rings. Our studies reveal a sensitive tool for the structural imaging of molecular complexes and provide a more complete understanding of the effects of N heteroatoms on the noncovalent aromatic interactions at the molecular level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaqi Zhou
- MOE Key Laboratory for Nonequilibrium Synthesis and Modulation of Condensed Matter, School of Physics, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China
| | - Shaokui Jia
- MOE Key Laboratory for Nonequilibrium Synthesis and Modulation of Condensed Matter, School of Physics, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China
| | - Xiaorui Xue
- MOE Key Laboratory for Nonequilibrium Synthesis and Modulation of Condensed Matter, School of Physics, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China
| | - Anna D Skitnevskaya
- Laboratory of Quantum Chemistry, Irkutsk State University, Irkutsk 664003, Russia
| | - Enliang Wang
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and Department of Modern Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Xing Wang
- MOE Key Laboratory for Nonequilibrium Synthesis and Modulation of Condensed Matter, School of Physics, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China
| | - Xintai Hao
- MOE Key Laboratory for Nonequilibrium Synthesis and Modulation of Condensed Matter, School of Physics, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China
| | - Qingrui Zeng
- MOE Key Laboratory for Nonequilibrium Synthesis and Modulation of Condensed Matter, School of Physics, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China
| | - Alexander I Kuleff
- Theoretische Chemie, Physikalisch-Chemisches Institut, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg 69120, Germany
| | - Alexander Dorn
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Heidelberg 69117, Germany
| | - Xueguang Ren
- MOE Key Laboratory for Nonequilibrium Synthesis and Modulation of Condensed Matter, School of Physics, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Heidelberg 69117, Germany
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Behera NR, Dutta S, Chacko R, Barik S, Aravind G. A 22-pole radiofrequency ion trap setup for laboratory astrophysical studies. THE REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS 2024; 95:013201. [PMID: 38197771 DOI: 10.1063/5.0166169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
The formation of large interstellar molecules starting from small reactants constitutes the bottom-up approach in astrochemistry. An experimental setup wherein the ionic reactant is prepared and allowed to react with neutral reactants within a confined interaction space is most desirable for this approach. Here, we present our efforts in constructing a 22-pole radio-frequency ion trap experimental setup that could act as a reaction chamber for the neutral reactant and trapped ions. A compact piezo-based pulsed supersonic expansion discharge source was developed to achieve efficient production of anions, particularly metal-bearing ions. In addition, two other ion sources, namely, the electron impact ion source and the plasma supersonic discharge ion source, were developed to cater to the production of specific ions. The geometry of this experimental setup facilitates photo excitation of trapped ions. The trapping efficiency was studied by trapping SF5+ and SF6- for a few seconds. The control exhibited by various parameters on the efficiency of the trapping is discussed in detail. Potential studies that could be performed with this new experimental setup are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Saurav Dutta
- Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India
| | - Roby Chacko
- Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India
| | - Saroj Barik
- Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India
| | - G Aravind
- Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India
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Sajeev Y. Prebiotic chemical origin of biomolecular complementarity. Commun Chem 2023; 6:259. [PMID: 38012323 PMCID: PMC10681984 DOI: 10.1038/s42004-023-01060-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The early Earth, devoid of the protective stratospheric ozone layer, must have sustained an ambient prebiotic physicochemical medium intensified by the co-existence of shortwave UV photons and very low energy electrons (vLEEs). Consequently, only intrinsically stable molecules against these two co-existing molecular destructors must have proliferated and thereby chemically evolved into the advanced molecules of life. Based on this view, we examined the stability inherent in nucleobases and their complementary pairs as resistance to the molecular damaging effects of shortwave UV photons and vLEEs. This leads to the conclusion that nucleobases could only proliferated as their complementary pairs under the unfavorable prebiotic conditions on early Earth. The complementary base pairing not only enhances but consolidates the intrinsic stability of nucleobases against short-range UV photons, vLEEs, and possibly many as-yet-unknown deleterious agents co-existed in the prebiotic conditions of the early Earth. In short, complementary base pairing is a manifestation of chemical evolution in the unfavorable prebiotic medium created by the absence of the stratospheric ozone layer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Sajeev
- Theoretical Chemistry Section, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India.
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, India.
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5
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Barik S, Behera NR, Dutta S, Kushawaha RK, Sajeev Y, Ramabhadran RO, Aravind G. Molecular growth of PANH via intermolecular Coulombic decay. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadi0230. [PMID: 37494436 PMCID: PMC10371028 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi0230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/22/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023]
Abstract
Nitrogen-bearing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PANHs) are ubiquitous in space. They are considered precursors to advanced biomolecules identified in meteorites. However, their chemical evolution into biomolecules in photodestructive astrophysical mediums remains a paradox. Here, we show that light can efficiently initiate the molecular mass growth of PANHs. Ultraviolet-photoexcited quinoline monomers, the smallest PANH, were observed to associate and intermolecular Coulombic decay between the associating monomers formed the cations of quinoline-dimer. Molecular rearrangements in the dimer cation lead to a dominant formation of cations heavier than quinoline. The enrichment of these heavier cations over all the other cations reveals the efficiency of this route for the mass growth of PANHs in space. This mechanism also leads to a highly reactive unsaturated PANH-ring via CH loss, a hitherto unknown channel in any photon-driven process. The occurrence of this efficient pathway toward complex molecules points to a rich chemistry in dense interstellar clouds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saroj Barik
- Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India
| | - Nihar Ranjan Behera
- Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India
| | - Saurav Dutta
- Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India
| | | | - Y Sajeev
- Theoretical Chemistry Section, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India
| | | | - G Aravind
- Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India
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Bejoy NB, Singh RK, Singh NK, Pananghat B, Patwari GN. Dynamics of Hydrogen Bond Breaking Induced by Outer-Valence Intermolecular Coulombic Decay. J Phys Chem Lett 2023:5718-5726. [PMID: 37318228 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c01039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The photoexcitation of weakly bound complexes can lead to several decay pathways, depending on the nature of the potential energy surfaces. Upon excitation of a chromophore in a weakly bound complex, ionization of its neighbor upon energy transfer can occur due to a unique relaxation process known as intermolecular Coulombic decay (ICD), a phenomenon of renewed focus owing to its relevance in biological systems. Herein, we report the evidence for outer-valence ICD induced by multiphoton excitation by near-ultraviolet radiation of 4.4 eV photons, hitherto unknown in molecular systems. In the binary complexes of 2,6-difluorophenylacetylene with aliphatic amines, a resonant two-photon excitation localized on the 2,6-difluorophenylacetylene chromophore results in the formation of an amine cation following an outer-valence ICD process. The unique trends in experimentally observed translational energy distribution profiles of the amine cations following hydrogen bond dissociation, analyzed with the help of electronic structure and ab initio molecular dynamics calculations, revealed the presence of a delicate interplay of roaming dynamics, methyl-rotor dynamics, and binding energy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Namitha Brijit Bejoy
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India
| | - Reman Kumar Singh
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India
| | - Nitin K Singh
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali, S. A. S Nagar, Mohali 140306, India
| | - Balanarayan Pananghat
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali, S. A. S Nagar, Mohali 140306, India
| | - G Naresh Patwari
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India
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7
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Shaik R, Varma HR, Madjet MEA, Zheng F, Frauenheim T, Chakraborty HS. Plasmonic Resonant Intercluster Coulombic Decay. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2023; 130:233201. [PMID: 37354411 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.130.233201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/26/2023]
Abstract
Light-induced energy confinement in nanoclusters via plasmon excitations influences applications in nanophotonics, photocatalysis, and the design of controlled slow electron sources. The resonant decay of these excitations through the cluster's ionization continuum provides a unique probe of the collective electronic behavior. However, the transfer of a part of this decay amplitude to the continuum of a second conjugated cluster may offer control and efficacy in sharing the energy nonlocally to instigate remote collective events. With the example of a spherically nested dimer Na_{20}@C_{240} of two plasmonic systems we find that such a transfer is possible through the resonant intercluster Coulombic decay (RICD) as a fundamental process. This plasmonic RICD signal can be experimentally detected by the photoelectron velocity map imaging technique.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rasheed Shaik
- School of Physical Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Kamand, H.P. 175075, India
| | - Hari R Varma
- School of Physical Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Kamand, H.P. 175075, India
| | - Mohamed El-Amine Madjet
- Bremen Center for Computational Materials Science, University of Bremen, Bremen 28359, Germany
- Department of Natural Sciences, Dean L. Hubbard Center for Innovation, Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, Missouri 64468, USA
| | - Fulu Zheng
- Bremen Center for Computational Materials Science, University of Bremen, Bremen 28359, Germany
| | - Thomas Frauenheim
- Bremen Center for Computational Materials Science, University of Bremen, Bremen 28359, Germany
- Beijing Computational Science Research Center, 100193 Beijing, China
- Shenzhen JL Computational Science and Applied Research Institute, 518110 Shenzhen, China
| | - Himadri S Chakraborty
- Department of Natural Sciences, Dean L. Hubbard Center for Innovation, Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, Missouri 64468, USA
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Patel M, Geethika BR, Thomas J, Joshi H. Spatial mapping of low pressure cluster jets using Rayleigh scattering. Sci Rep 2023; 13:6338. [PMID: 37072426 PMCID: PMC10113270 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-32373-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023] Open
Abstract
In this work, we report evolution of atomic clusters in a highly under-expanded supersonic jet of Argon. A high resolution and sensitive Rayleigh scattering based experimental set-up is designed to overcome the limitations encountered in conventional set-ups. Further, the measurement range could be extended from a few nozzle diameters to 50 nozzle diameters. Simultaneously, we had been able to generate 2D profiles of the distribution of clusters inside the jet. This paves the way to track the growth of clusters along the flow direction experimentally, which until now was limited to few nozzle diameters. The results show that spatial distribution of clusters inside the supersonic core deviates considerably from the prediction of the free expansion model. We exploit this to estimate cluster growth along the expansion direction. Further, it is observed that the growth of the clusters gets saturated after a certain distance from the nozzle. At the jet boundary, we see substantial cluster strengthening immediately upstream of barrel shock while the normal shock exhibits disintegration of clusters. These observations are noticed for the first time, which, we believe will further the understanding of cluster dynamics in a supersonic jet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milaan Patel
- Institute for Plasma Research, Near Bhat, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 382428, India.
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Training School Complex, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai, 400094, India.
| | - B R Geethika
- Institute for Plasma Research, Near Bhat, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 382428, India
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Training School Complex, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai, 400094, India
| | - Jinto Thomas
- Institute for Plasma Research, Near Bhat, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 382428, India
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Training School Complex, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai, 400094, India
| | - Hem Joshi
- Institute for Plasma Research, Near Bhat, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 382428, India
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Training School Complex, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai, 400094, India
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