Combination band spectroscopy of H3+

Analysis of QED and non-adiabaticity effects on the rovibrational spectrum of H3 + using geometry-dependent effective nuclear masses

The influence of QED effects (including one- and two-electron Lamb-shift, Araki-Sucher term, one-loop self-energy, and finite nuclear size correction) together with non-adiabatic effects on the rovibrational bound states of H₃ ⁺ has been investigated. Non-adiabaticity is modeled by using geometry-dependent effective nuclear masses together with only one single potential energy surface. In conclusion, for rovibrational states below 20 000 cm^-1, QED and relativistic effects do nearly compensate, and a potential energy surface based on Born-Oppenheimer energies and diagonal adiabatic corrections has nearly the same quality as the one including relativity with QED; the deviations between the two approaches for individual rovibrational states are mostly below 0.02 cm^-1. The inclusion of non-adiabatic effects is important, and it reduces deviations from experiments mostly below 0.1 cm^-1.

Cooling by H3(+) emission

Emission by the H3(+) molecular ion may be important in determining the energy balance in astrophysical situations, such as in (exo)planetary atmospheres. Here we report the calculation of a new cooling function, based on refitted partition functions and a recalculation of the total energy emitted by the molecule. This new function gives significantly increased cooling at higher temperatures, typical of those found in the atmospheres of gas giants. It is shown that nonthermal effects also need to be considered. A link to a web-based code to calculate radiative cooling in H2/H3(+) gas mixtures, including the effects of departures from equilibrium, is provided.

Explicitly correlated potential energy surface of H3+, including relativistic and adiabatic corrections

After a short historical account of the theory of the H3+ ion, two ab initio methods are reviewed that allow the computation of the ground-state potential energy surface (PES) of H3+ in the Born-Oppenheimer (BO) approximation, with microhartree or even sub-microhartree accuracy, namely the R12 method and the method of explicitly correlated Gaussians. The BO-PES is improved by the inclusion of relativistic effects and adiabatic corrections. It is discussed how non-adiabatic effects on rotation and vibration can be simulated by corrections to the moving nuclear masses. The importance of the appropriate analytic fit to the computed points of the PES for the subsequent computation of the rovibronic spectrum is addressed. Some recent extensions of the computed PES in the energy region above the barrier to linearity are reviewed. This involves a large set of input geometries and the correct treatment of the dissociation asymptotics, including the coupling with the first excited singlet state. Some comments on this state as well as on the lowest triplet state of H3+ are made. The paper ends with a few remarks on the ion H5+.

A detailed quantum mechanical and quasiclassical trajectory study on the dynamics of the H++H2→H2+H+ exchange reaction

The H+ + H2 exchange reaction has been studied theoretically by means of a different variety of methods as an exact time independent quantum mechanical, approximate quantum wave packet, statistical quantum, and quasiclassical trajectory approaches. Total and state-to-state reaction probabilities in terms of the collision energy for different values of the total angular momentum obtained with these methods are compared. The dynamics of the reaction is extensively studied at the collision energy of E(coll)=0.44 eV. Integral and differential cross sections and opacity functions at this collision energy have been calculated. In particular, the fairly good description of the exact quantum results provided by the statistical quantum method suggests that the dynamics of the process is governed by an insertion mechanism with the formation of a long-lived collision complex.

First-principles rovibrational analysis of the H3+-molecule

The fitting of highly accurate potential energy points and of the diagonal adiabatic coupling for H3+ using different functional forms is presented. A recently derived analytical potential based on 69 points has been extended to give a highly reliable form of the topology of the surface far beyond the barrier to linearity. Rovibrational frequencies have been derived and are compared with experiment. Detailed information about the experimentally observed rovibrational transitions near 1.25 microm will be given. The computed transition frequencies reproduce experimental transitions within a tenth up to a few hundredths of a wavenumber, if a simulation of non-adiabatic effects is taken into account.