Discretized hierarchical equations of motion in mixed Liouville-Wigner space for two-dimensional vibrational spectroscopies of liquid water

Classical and quantum thermodynamics described as a system-bath model: The dimensionless minimum work principle

We formulate a thermodynamic theory applicable to both classical and quantum systems. These systems are depicted as thermodynamic system-bath models capable of handling isothermal, isentropic, thermostatic, and entropic processes. Our approach is based on the use of a dimensionless thermodynamic potential expressed as a function of the intensive and extensive thermodynamic variables. Using the principles of dimensionless minimum work and dimensionless maximum entropy derived from quasi-static changes of external perturbations and temperature, we obtain the Massieu-Planck potentials as entropic potentials and the Helmholtz-Gibbs potentials as free energy. These potentials can be interconverted through time-dependent Legendre transformations. Our results are verified numerically for an anharmonic Brownian system described in phase space using the low-temperature quantum Fokker-Planck equations in the quantum case and the Kramers equation in the classical case, both developed for the thermodynamic system-bath model. Thus, we clarify the conditions for thermodynamics to be valid even for small systems described by Hamiltonians and establish a basis for extending thermodynamics to non-equilibrium conditions.

Path Integral Simulations of Condensed-Phase Vibrational Spectroscopy

Recent theoretical and algorithmic developments have improved the accuracy with which path integral dynamics methods can include nuclear quantum effects in simulations of condensed-phase vibrational spectra. Such methods are now understood to be approximations to the delocalized classical Matsubara dynamics of smooth Feynman paths, which dominate the dynamics of systems such as liquid water at room temperature. Focusing mainly on simulations of liquid water and hexagonal ice, we explain how the recently developed quasicentroid molecular dynamics (QCMD), fast-QCMD, and temperature-elevated path integral coarse-graining simulations (Te PIGS) methods generate classical dynamics on potentials of mean force obtained by averaging over quantum thermal fluctuations. These new methods give very close agreement with one another, and the Te PIGS method has recently yielded excellent agreement with experimentally measured vibrational spectra for liquid water, ice, and the liquid-air interface. We also discuss the limitations of such methods.

Experimental Access to Mode-Specific Coupling between Quantum Molecular Vibrations and Classical Bath Modes

The interaction of quantum-mechanical systems with a fluctuating thermal environment (bath) is fundamental to molecular mechanics and energy transport/dissipation. Its complete picture requires mode-specific measurements of this interaction and an understanding of its nature. Here, we present a combined experimental and theoretical study providing detailed insights into the coupling between a high-frequency vibrational two-level system and thermally excited terahertz modes. Experimentally, two-dimensional terahertz-infrared-visible spectroscopy reports directly on the coupling between quantum oscillators represented by CH3 streching vibrations in liquid dimethyl sulfoxide and distinct low-frequency modes. Theoretically, we present a mixed quantum-classical formalism of the sample response to enable the simultaneous quantum description of high-frequency oscillators and a classical description of the bath. We derive the strength and nature of interaction and find different coupling between CH3 stretch and low-frequency modes. This general approach enables quantitative and mode-specific analysis of coupled quantum and classical dynamics in complex chemical systems.