Calculated spectra for the N2-Ar van der Waals complex

Future of computational molecular spectroscopy-from supporting interpretation to leading the innovation

Molecular spectroscopy measures transitions between discrete molecular energies which follow quantum mechanics. Structural information of a molecule is encoded in the spectra, which can be only decoded using quantum mechanics and therefore computational molecular spectroscopy becomes essential. In this review perspective, the role evolution of computational molecular spectroscopy has been discussed with several joint theory and experiment spectroscopic studies in the past decades, which includes rotational (microwave), vibrational and electronic spectroscopy (valence and core) of molecules. With the development in high resolution and computerized synchrotron sourced spectroscopy, spectral measurements and computational molecular spectroscopy need to be integrated for materials development. Contemporary computational molecular spectroscopy is, therefore, more than merely supporting interpretation but leading the innovation. Future development of molecular spectroscopy lies to identify the niche to integrate experimental and computational molecular spectroscopy. It also requires to engineer molecular spectroscopic databases that function according to the universal approaches of computing, such as those in a Turing machine, to be realized in a chemical and/or spectroscopic programable manner (digital twinning research) in the future.

Complex rovibrational dynamics of the Ar·NO+ complex

Rotational-vibrational states of the Ar·NO⁺ cationic complex are computed, below, above, and well above the complex's first dissociation energy, using variational nuclear motion and close-coupling scattering computations. The HSLH potential energy surface used in this study (J. Chem. Phys., 2011, 135, 044312) is characterized by a first dissociation energy of D₀ = 887.0 cm^-1 and supports 200 bound vibrational states. The bound-state vibrational energies and the corresponding wave functions allow the interpretation of the scarcely available experimental results about the intermonomer vibrational motion of the complex. A very large number of long-lived quasibound combination states of the three vibrational modes, exhibiting a very similar energy-level structure as that of the bound states, are found embedded in the continuum. Additional short-lived resonance states are also identified and their properties are analyzed.

Strong field multiple ionization as a route to electron dynamics in a van der Waals cluster

We study the order in which a strong laser field removes multiple electrons from a van der Waals (vdW) cluster. The N2Ar, with an equilibrium T-shaped geometry, contains both a covalent and a vdW bond and serves as a simple yet rich example. Interestingly, the fragmenting double and triple ionizations of N2Ar with vdW bond breaking are favored when the vdW bond is aligned along the laser field polarization vector. However, the orientation of the covalent bond with respect to the laser field rules the triple ionization when both the covalent and vdW bonds are simultaneously broken. Electron-localization-assisted enhanced ionization and molecular orbital profile-dominated, orientation-dependent ionization are discussed to reveal the order of electrons release from different sites of N2Ar.

Predicting the infrared transition intensities in the Ar-HF complex: the key role of the dipole moment surface accuracy

The method proposed earlier for the generation of the full-dimensional energy surface for van der Waals complexes [P. Jankowski, J. Chem. Phys. 121, 1655 (2004)] is used to obtain a fulldimensional dipole moment surface for the atom-diatom complex in calculations based on the coupled-cluster with single, double, and noniterative triple excitation approach and the aug-cc-pVQZ basis sets. This surface has been employed to calculate transition intensities of the infrared spectra of Ar-HF. Special attention has been paid to study the problem of relative intensities of the different bands which have not been properly predicted within the long-range models of the dipole moment [A. E. Thornley and J. M. Hutson, J. Chem. Phys. 101, 5578 (1994)]. The intensities calculated with the present dipole moment surface agree very well with the experimental data, which indicate that the short-range interactions significantly affect the dipole moment surface and the calculated intensities. To investigate the role of the accuracy of the dipole moment surface on infrared transition intensities in atom-diatom complexes, four models of increasing complexity are studied. Their performance is shown to strongly depend on the region of the interaction energy surface probed by the initial and final states of the individual transitions.

New exchange-Coulomb N2-Ar potential-energy surface and its comparison with other recent N2-Ar potential-energy surfaces

The reliability of five N2-Ar potential-energy surfaces in representing the N2-Ar interaction has been investigated by comparing their abilities to reproduce a variety of experimental results, including interaction second viral coefficients, bulk transport properties, relaxation phenomena, differential scattering cross sections, and the microwave and infrared spectra of the van der Waals complexes. Four of the surfaces are the result of high-level ab initio quantal calculations; one of them utilized fine tuning by fitting to microwave data. To date, these four potential-energy surfaces have only been tested against experimental microwave data. The fifth potential-energy surface, based upon the exchange-Coulomb potential-energy model for the interaction of closed-shell species, is developed herein: it is a combination of a damped dispersion energy series and ab initio calculations of the Heitler-London interaction energy, and has adjustable parameters determined by requiring essentially simultaneous agreement with selected quality interaction second viral coefficient and microwave data. Comparisons are also made with the predictions of three other very good literature potential-energy surfaces, including the precursor of the new exchange-Coulomb potential-energy surface developed here. Based upon an analysis of a large body of information, the new exchange-Coulomb and microwave-tuned ab initio potential-energy surfaces provide the best representations of the N2-Ar interaction; nevertheless, the other potential-energy surfaces examined still have considerable merit with respect to the prediction of specific properties of the N2-Ar van der Waals complex. Of the two recommended surfaces, the new exchange-Coulomb surface is preferred on balance due to its superior predictions of the effective cross sections related to various relaxation phenomena, and to its reliable, and relatively simple, representation of the long-range part of the potential-energy surface. Moreover, the flexibility still inherent in the exchange-Coulomb potential form can be further exploited, if required, in future studies of the N2-Ar interaction.

Highly excited rovibrational states of small molecules

The use of first principles variational calculations for the calculation of high-lying energy levels, wavefunctions and transition intensities for triatomic molecules is considered. Theoretical developments are considered, including the use of generalized internal coordinates, the use of a two-step procedure for rotationally excited systems and a finite element method known as the discrete variable representation. Illustrative calculations are presented including ones for H 2, LiCN and the Ar-N2 Van der Waals molecule. A first principles ‘rotational’ spectrum of H 2D+ is computed using states up to J = 30. The transition intensities in this spectrum are reproduced accurately in a frozen dipole approximation but are poorly represented by models that involve approximating the wavefunction.

Vibration--rotation--tunneling dynamics calculations for the four-dimensional (HCl)2 system: a test of approximate models

Several commonly used approximate methods for the calculation of vibration--rotation--tunneling spectra for (HCl)2 are described. These range from one-dimensional models to an exact coupled four-dimensional treatment of the intermolecular dynamics. Two different potential surfaces were employed--an ab initio and our ES1 experimental surface (determined by imbedding the four-dimensional calculation outlined here in a least-squares loop to fit the experimental data, which is described in the accompanying paper [J. Chem. Phys. 103, 933 (1995)]. The most important conclusion deduced from this work is that the validity of the various approximate models is extremely system specific. All of the approximate methods addressed in this paper were found to be sensitive to the approximate separability of the radial and angular degrees of freedom, wherein exists the primary difference between the two potentials. Of particular importance, the commonly used reversed adiabatic angular approximation was found to be very sensitive to the choice for fixed R; an improper choice would lead to results very much different from the fully coupled results and perhaps to false conclusions concerning the intermolecular potential energy surface.