Rovibrational spectra of ammonia. II. Detailed analysis, comparison, and prediction of spectroscopic assignments for 14NH3,15NH3, and 14ND3

A numerical-tensorial "hybrid" nuclear motion Hamiltonian and dipole moment operator for spectra calculation of polyatomic nonrigid molecules

The analysis and modeling of high-resolution spectra of nonrigid molecules require a specific Hamiltonian and group-theoretical formulation that differs significantly from that of more familiar rigid systems. Within the framework of Hougen-Bunker-Johns (HBJ) theory, this paper is devoted to the construction of a nonrigid Hamiltonian based on a suitable combination of numerical calculations for the nonrigid part in conjunction with the irreducible tensor operator method for the rigid part. For the first time, a variational calculation from ab initio potential energy surfaces is performed using the HBJ kinetic energy operator built from vibrational, large-amplitude motion, and rotational tensor operators expressed in terms of curvilinear and normal coordinates. Group theory for nonrigid molecules plays a central role in the characterization of the overall tunneling splittings and is discussed in the present approach. The construction of the dipole moment operator is also examined. Validation tests consisting of a careful convergence study of the energy levels as well as a comparison of results obtained from independent computer codes are given for the nonrigid molecules CH2, CH3, NH3, and H2O2. This work paves the way for the modeling of high-resolution spectra of larger nonrigid systems.

Convergence of series expansions in rovibrational configuration interaction (RVCI) calculations

Rotational and rovibrational spectra are a key in astrophysical studies, atmospheric science, pollution monitoring, and other fields of active research. The ab initio calculation of such spectra is fairly sensitive with respect to a multitude of parameters and all of them must be carefully monitored in order to yield reliable results. Besides the most obvious ones, i.e., the quality of the multidimensional potential energy surface and the vibrational wavefunctions, it is the representation of the μ-tensor within the Watson Hamiltonian, which has a significant impact on the desired line lists or simulated spectra. Within this work, we studied the dependence of high-resolution rovibrational spectra with respect to the truncation order of the μ-tensor within the rotational contribution and the Coriolis coupling operator of the Watson operator. Moreover, the dependence of the infrared intensities of the rovibrational transitions on an n-mode expansion of the dipole moment surface has been investigated as well. Benchmark calculations are provided for thioformaldehyde, which has already served as a test molecule in other studies and whose rovibrational spectrum was found to be fairly sensitive. All calculations rely on rovibrational configuration interaction theory and the discussed high-order terms of the μ-tensor are a newly implemented feature, whose theoretical basics are briefly discussed.

What It Takes to Compute Highly Accurate Rovibrational Line Lists for Use in Astrochemistry

ConspectusWe review the Best Theory + Reliable High-Resolution Experiment (BTRHE) strategy for obtaining highly accurate molecular rovibrational line lists with InfraRed (IR) intensities. The need for highly accurate molecular rovibrational line lists is twofold: (a) assignment of the many rovibrational lines for common stable molecules especially those that exhibit a large amplitude motion, such as NH₃, or have a high density of states such as SO₂; and (b) characterization of the atmospheres of exoplanets, which will be one of the main areas of research in astronomy in the coming decades. The first motivation arises due to the need to eliminate lines due to common molecules in an astronomical observation in order to identify lines from new molecules, while the second motivation arises due to the need to obtain accurate molecular opacities in order to characterize the atmosphere of an exoplanet. The BTRHE strategy first consists of using high-quality ab initio quantum-chemical methods to obtain a global potential energy surface (PES) and dipole moment surface (DMS) that contains the proper physics. The global PES is then refined using a subset of the reliable high-resolution experimental data. The refined PES then gives energy-level predictions to an accuracy similar to the reproduction accuracy of the experimental data used in the refinement step in the interpolation region (i.e., within the range of the experimental data used in the refinement step). The accuracy of the energy levels will slowly degrade as they are extrapolated to spectral regions beyond the high-resolution experimental data used in the refinement step. However, because the degradation is slow, the predicted energy levels can be used to assign new high-resolution experiments, and the data from these can then be used in a subsequent refinement step. In this way, the global PES eventually can yield highly accurate energy levels for all desired spectral regions including to very high energies and high J values. We show that IR intensities computed with the BTRHE rovibrational wave functions and the DMS can be very accurate provided one has minimized the fitting error of the DMS and tested the completeness of the DMS. Some examples of our work on NH₃, CO₂, and SO₂ are given to highlight the usefulness of the BTRHE strategy and to provide ideas on how to further improve its predictive power in the future. In particular, it is shown how successive refinement steps, once new high-resolution data are available, can lead to PESs that yield highly accurate transition energies to larger spectral regions. The importance of including nonadiabatic corrections to reduce the J-dependence of errors for H-containing molecules is shown with work on NH₃. Another very important aspect of the BTRHE approach is the consistency across isotopologues, which allows for highly accurate line lists for any isotopologue once one is obtained for the main isotopologue (which has more high-resolution data available for refinement).

Derivation of ρ-dependent coordinate transformations for nonrigid molecules in the Hougen-Bunker-Johns formalism

In this paper, we report a series of transformations for the construction of a Hamiltonian model for nonrigid polyatomic molecules in the framework of the Hougen-Bunker-Johns formalism (HBJ). This model is expressed in normal mode coordinates for small vibrations and in a specific coordinate ρ to describe the large amplitude motion. For the first time, a general procedure linking the "true" curvilinear coordinates to ρ is proposed, allowing the expression of the potential energy part in the same coordinate representation as the kinetic energy operator, whatever the number of atoms. A Lie group-based method is also proposed for the derivation of the reference configuration in the internal axis system. This work opens new perspectives for future high-resolution spectroscopy studies of nonrigid, medium-sized molecules using HBJ-type Hamiltonians. Illustrative examples and computation of vibrational energy levels on semirigid and nonrigid molecules are given to validate this method.

The v2 = 1, 2 and v4 = 1 bending states of 15NH3 and their analysis at experimental accuracy

¹⁵NH₃ is the object of extensive investigation due to the central role of ammonia in astronomical sciences and to the complexity of modeling its interacting vibrationally excited states. Of major interest in astrochemistry is the determination of the ¹⁴N/¹⁵N ratio in space, characterized by unexpected variability among different solar system objects and reservoirs. Recently, the spectroscopic analysis of ground and v₂ = 1 a, s states of ¹⁵NH₃ has been completed at experimental accuracy. Here, the characterization of the a, s inversion symmetry levels of v₂ = 1, 2 and v₄ = 1 states is presented. New spectra of ¹⁵NH₃ have been recorded from 325 to 2000 cm^-1 at a resolution ranging from 0.00096 cm^-1 to 0.003 cm^-1, using the Canadian Light Source synchrotron at CLS. 7518 transitions covering nine bands, ν₂, 2ν₂, ν₄, 2ν₂ ← ν₂, ν₄ ← ν₂, 2ν₂ ↔ ν₄ and the inversion-rotation transitions in the excited states, have been fitted simultaneously. The effective Hamiltonian adopted includes all symmetry allowed interactions between and within the studied excited states, according to the most recent results on ammonia. The transitions have been reproduced at experimental accuracy using 185 spectroscopic parameters, determined with high precision. The leading diagonal parameters, G_v, B, C, D's, compare well with those of ¹⁴NH₃. The wavenumbers of the assigned transitions are compared with their theoretically predicted values. An improved set of ground state parameters is also derived. These results noticeably improve the wavenumber line list in the high-resolution transmission molecular absorption (HITRAN) database.

Rovibrational quantum dynamics of the vinyl radical and its deuterated isotopologues

Rotational–vibrational states up to 3200 cm⁻¹, beyond the highest-lying stretching fundamental, are computed variationally for the vinyl radical (VR), H₂C_βC_αH, and the following deuterated isotopologues of VR: CH₂CD, CHDCH, and CD₂CD.

Isotopic and symmetry breaking effects on phosphine spectra under H → D substitutions from ab initio variational calculations

Variationally computed infrared spectra in the range [0-5000] cm^-1 are reported for the deuterated PH₂D and PHD₂ molecules from accurate potential energy and dipole moment surfaces initially derived for the major isotopologue PH₃( C 3 v ). Energy level and line intensity calculations were performed by using a normal-mode model combined with isotopic and symmetry transformations for the H → D substitutions. Theoretical spectra were computed at 296 K up to J _max = 30 and will be made available through the TheoReTS information system (http://theorets.univ-reims.fr, http://theorets.tsu.ru). For the very first time, ab initio intensity predictions of PH₂D/PHD₂ are in good qualitative agreement with the literature. This work will be useful for spectral intensity analysis for which accurate spectral intensity data are still missing.

Infrared Chemiluminescence Study of the Reaction of Hydroxyl Radical with Formamide and the Secondary Unimolecular Reaction of Chemically Activated Carbamic Acid

Reactions of OH and OD radicals with NH₂CHO and ND₂CHO were studied by Fourier transform infrared emission spectroscopy of the product molecules from a fast-flow reactor at 298 K. Vibrational distributions of the HOD and H₂O molecules from the primary reactions with the C-H bond were obtained by computer simulation of the emission spectra. The vibrational distributions resemble those for other direct H atom abstraction reactions, such as with acetaldehyde. The highest observed level gives an estimate of the C-H bond dissociation energy in formamide of 90.5 ± 1.3 kcal mol^-1. Observation of CO₂, ammonia, and secondary water chemiluminescence gave evidence that recombination of OH and NH₂CO forms carbamic acid (NH₂COOH) with excitation energy of 103 kcal mol^-1, which decomposes through two pathways forming either NH₃ + CO₂ or H₂O + HNCO. The branching fraction for ammonia formation was estimated to be 2-3 times larger than formation of water. This observation was confirmed by RRKM calculation of the decomposition rate constants. A new simulation method was developed to analyze infrared emission from NH₃, NH₂D, ND₂H, and ND₃. Dynamical aspects of the primary and secondary reactions are discussed based on the vibrational distributions of CO₂ and those of H/D isotopes of water and ammonia.

Promoting and inhibiting tunneling via nuclear motions

Accurate, experimental rotational-vibrational energy levels determined via the MARVEL (Measured Active Rotational-Vibrational Energy Levels) algorithm and published recently for the symmetric-top (14)NH3 molecule in J. Quant. Spectrosc. Radiat. Transfer, 2015, 116, 117-130 are analyzed to unravel the promoting and inhibiting effects of vibrations and rotations on the tunneling splittings of the corresponding symmetric (s) and antisymmetric (a) rovibrational energy level pairs. The experimental transition data useful from the point of view of the present analysis cover the range 0.7-7000 cm(-1), sufficiently detailed rovibrational energy sets worth analyzing are available for 20 vibrational bands. The highest J value, where J stands for the rotational quantum number, within the experimental dataset employed is 30. Coupling of the "umbrella" motion of (14)NH3 with other vibrational degrees of freedom has only a minor effect on the a-s tunneling splitting characterizing the ground vibrational state, 0.79436(70) cm(-1). In the majority of the cases rotation around the C3 axis increases, while rotation around the two perpendicular axes decreases the tunneling splittings. For example, for the pair of vibrational ground states, 0(+) and 0(-), the tunneling splitting basically disappears at around J = 25 for the (J,K) = (J,1) states, where K = |k| is the usual quantum number characterizing the projection of the rotational angular momentum on the principal axis. The tunneling splittings, defined as energy differences E(a) - E(s) of corresponding energy level pairs, as a function of J and K show a very regular behavior for the ground state (GS) and the nν2 bands. For the other bands investigated exceptions from a regular behavior do occur, especially for bands characterized by degenerate vibrations, and occasionally the data available are not sufficient to arrive at definitive conclusions. The most irregular behavior is observed for rotational states characterized by the k - l = 3n rule (l is the vibrational angular momentum quantum number), with n = 0, 1, 2,… High-quality, variationally computed rovibrational data support all the conclusions of this study based on experimental energy levels.

Molecular opacities for exoplanets

Spectroscopic observations of exoplanets are now possible by transit methods and direct emission. Spectroscopic requirements for exoplanets are reviewed based on existing measurements and model predictions for hot Jupiters and super-Earths. Molecular opacities needed to simulate astronomical observations can be obtained from laboratory measurements, ab initio calculations or a combination of the two approaches. This discussion article focuses mainly on laboratory measurements of hot molecules as needed for exoplanet spectroscopy.

Limited rotational and rovibrational line lists computed with highly accurate quartic force fields and ab initio dipole surfaces

In this work, computational procedures are employed to compute the rotational and rovibrational spectra and line lists for H2O, CO2, and SO2. Building on the established use of quartic force fields, MP2 and CCSD(T) Dipole Moment Surfaces (DMSs) are computed for each system of study in order to produce line intensities as well as the transition energies. The computed results exhibit a clear correlation to reference data available in the HITRAN database. Additionally, even though CCSD(T) DMSs produce more accurate intensities as compared to experiment, the use of MP2 DMSs results in reliable line lists that are still comparable to experiment. The use of the less computationally costly MP2 method is beneficial in the study of larger systems where use of CCSD(T) would be more costly.

Study of the Q branch structure of the 14N and 15N isotopologues of the ν4 band of ammonia using frequency chirped quantum cascade lasers

Intrapulse quantum cascade (QC) laser spectrometers are able to produce both saturation and molecular alignment of a gas sample owing to the rapid sweep of the radiation through the absorption features. In the QC lasers used to study the (14)N and (15)N isotopologues of the ν4 band of ammonia centered near 1625 cm(-1), the variation of the chirp rate during the scan is very large, from ca. 85 to ca. 15 MHz ns(-1). In the rapid chirp zone the collisional interaction time of the laser radiation with the gas molecules is short, and large rapid passage effects are seen, whereas at the slow chirp end the line shape resembles that of a Doppler broadened line. The total scan range of the QC laser of ca. 10 cm(-1) is sufficient to allow the spectra of both isotopologues to be recorded and the rapid and slow interactions with the laser radiation to be seen. The rapid passage effects are enhanced by the use of an off axis Herriott cell with an effective path length of 62 m, which allows a buildup of polarization to occur. The effective resolution of the chirped QC laser is ca. 0.012 cm(-1) full width at half-maximum in the 1625 cm(-1) region. The results of these experiments are compared with those of other studies of the ν4 band of ammonia carried out using Fourier transform and Laser Stark spectroscopy. They also demonstrate the versatility of the down chirped QC laser for investigating collisional effects in low pressure gases using long absorbing path lengths.

Matrix isolation spectroscopy and nuclear spin conversion of NH3 and ND3 in solid parahydrogen

We present matrix isolation infrared absorption spectra of NH3 and ND3 trapped in solid parahydrogen (pH2) at temperatures around 1.8 K. We used the relatively slow nuclear spin conversion (NSC) of NH3 and ND3 in freshly deposited pH2 samples as a tool to assign the sparse vibration-inversion-rotation (VIR) spectra of NH3 in the regions of the ν2, ν4, 2ν4, ν1, and ν3 bands and ND3 in the regions of the ν2, ν4, ν1, and ν3 fundamentals. Partial assignments are also presented for various combination bands of NH3. Detailed analysis of the ν2 bands of NH3 and ND3 indicates that both isotopomers are nearly free rotors; that the vibrational energy is blue-shifted by 1-2%; and that the rotational constants and inversion tunneling splitting are 91-94% and 67-75%, respectively, of the gas-phase values. The line shapes of the VIR absorptions are narrow (0.2-0.4 cm(-1)) for upper states that cannot rotationally relax and broad (>1 cm(-1)) for upper states that can rotationally relax. We report and assign a number of NH3-induced infrared absorption features of the pH2 host near 4150 cm(-1), along with a cooperative transition that involves simultaneous vibrational excitation of a pH2 molecule and rotation-inversion excitation of NH3. The NSCs of NH3 and ND3 were found to follow first-order kinetics with rate constants at 1.8 K of k = 1.88(16) × 10(-3) s(-1) and k = 1.08(8) × 10(-3) s(-1), respectively. These measured rate constants are compared to previous measurements for NH3 in an Ar matrix and with the rate constants measured for other dopant molecules isolated in solid pH2.