Finite-Temperature Correlation Functions Obtained from Combined Real- and Imaginary-Time Propagation of Variational Thawed Gaussian Wavepackets.

We apply the so-called variational Gaussian wavepacket approximation (VGA) for conducting both real- and imaginary-time dynamics to calculate thermal correlation functions. By considering strongly anharmonic systems, such as a quartic potential and a double-well potential at high and low temperatures, it is shown that this method is partially able to account for tunneling. This is contrary to other popular many-body methods, such as ring polymer molecular dynamics and the classical Wigner method, which fail in this respect. It is a historical peculiarity that no one has considered the VGA method for representing both the Boltzmann operator and the real-time propagation. This method should be well suited for molecular systems containing many atoms.

A Divergence-Free Wigner Transform of the Boltzmann Operator Based on an Effective Frequency Theory.

The centroid effective frequency representation of path integrals as developed by Feynman and Kleinert was originally aimed at calculating partition functions and related quantities in the canonical ensemble. In its path integral formulation, only closed paths were relevant. This formulation has been used by the present authors in order to calculate the many-body Wigner function of the Boltzmann operator, which includes also open paths. This usage of the theory outside of the original intention can lead to mathematical divergence issues for potentials with barriers, particularly at low temperature. In the present paper, we modify the effective frequency theory of Feynman and Kleinert by also including open paths in its variational equations. In this way, a divergence-free approximation to the Boltzmann operator matrix elements is derived. This generalized version of Feynman and Kleinert's formulation is thus more robust and can be applied to all types of barriers at all temperatures. This new version is used to calculate the Wigner functions of the Boltzmann operator for a quartic oscillator and for a double well potential and both static and dynamic properties are studied at several temperatures. The new theory is found to be essentially as precise as the original one. Its advantage is that it will always deliver a well-defined, even if approximate, Wigner function, which can, for instance, be used for sampling initial conditions for molecular dynamics simulations. As will be discussed, the theory can be systematically improved by including higher-order Fourier modes into the nonquadratic part of the trial action.

Classical Wigner model based on a Feynman path integral open polymer.

The classical Wigner model is one way to approximate the quantum dynamics of atomic nuclei. Here, a new method is presented for sampling the initial quantum mechanical distribution that is required in the classical Wigner model. The new method is tested for the position, position-squared, momentum, and momentum-squared autocorrelation functions for a one-dimensional quartic oscillator and double well potential as well as a quartic oscillator coupled to harmonic baths of different sizes. Two versions of the new method are tested and shown to possibly be useful. Both versions always converge toward the classical Wigner limit. For the one-dimensional cases, some results that are essentially converged to the classical Wigner limit are acquired and others are not far off. For the multi-dimensional systems, the convergence is slower, but approximating the sampling of the harmonic bath with classical mechanics was found to greatly improve the numerical performance. For the double well, the new method is noticeably better than the Feynman-Kleinert linearized path integral method at reproducing the exact classical Wigner results, but they are equally good at reproducing exact quantum mechanics. The new method is suggested as being interesting for future tests on other correlation functions and systems.

A new class of ensemble conserving algorithms for approximate quantum dynamics: Theoretical formulation and model problems.

We develop two classes of quasi-classical dynamics that are shown to conserve the initial quantum ensemble when used in combination with the Feynman-Kleinert approximation of the density operator. These dynamics are used to improve the Feynman-Kleinert implementation of the classical Wigner approximation for the evaluation of quantum time correlation functions known as Feynman-Kleinert linearized path-integral. As shown, both classes of dynamics are able to recover the exact classical and high temperature limits of the quantum time correlation function, while a subset is able to recover the exact harmonic limit. A comparison of the approximate quantum time correlation functions obtained from both classes of dynamics is made with the exact results for the challenging model problems of the quartic and double-well potentials. It is found that these dynamics provide a great improvement over the classical Wigner approximation, in which purely classical dynamics are used. In a special case, our first method becomes identical to centroid molecular dynamics.

Application of a new ensemble conserving quantum dynamics simulation algorithm to liquid para-hydrogen and ortho-deuterium.

We apply the Feynman-Kleinert Quasi-Classical Wigner (FK-QCW) method developed in our previous work [Smith et al., J. Chem. Phys. 142, 244112 (2015)] for the determination of the dynamic structure factor of liquid para-hydrogen and ortho-deuterium at state points of (T = 20.0 K, n = 21.24 nm(-3)) and (T = 23.0 K, n = 24.61 nm(-3)), respectively. When applied to this challenging system, it is shown that this new FK-QCW method consistently reproduces the experimental dynamic structure factor reported by Smith et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 140, 034501 (2014)] for all momentum transfers considered. This shows that FK-QCW provides a substantial improvement over the Feynman-Kleinert linearized path-integral method, in which purely classical dynamics are used. Furthermore, for small momentum transfers, it is shown that FK-QCW provides nearly the same results as ring-polymer molecular dynamics (RPMD), thus suggesting that FK-QCW provides a potentially more appealing algorithm than RPMD since it is not formally limited to correlation functions involving linear operators.

Refinement of the experimental dynamic structure factor for liquid para-hydrogen and ortho-deuterium using semi-classical quantum simulation.

The dynamic structure factor of liquid para-hydrogen and ortho-deuterium in corresponding thermodynamic states (T = 20.0 K, n = 21.24 nm(-3)) and (T = 23.0 K, n = 24.61 nm(-3)), respectively, has been computed by both the Feynman-Kleinert linearized path-integral (FK-LPI) and Ring-Polymer Molecular Dynamics (RPMD) methods and compared with Inelastic X Ray Scattering spectra. The combined use of computational and experimental methods enabled us to reduce experimental uncertainties in the determination of the true sample spectrum. Furthermore, the refined experimental spectrum of para-hydrogen and ortho-deuterium is consistently reproduced by both FK-LPI and RPMD results at momentum transfers lower than 12.8 nm(-1). At larger momentum transfers the FK-LPI results agree with experiment much better for ortho-deuterium than for para-hydrogen. More specifically we found that for k ∼ 20.0 nm(-1) para-hydrogen provides a test case for improved approximations to quantum dynamics.

The classical Wigner method with an effective quantum force: application to the collinear H + H2 reaction.

To improve the classical Wigner (CW) model, we recently proposed the classical Wigner model with an effective quantum force (CWEQF). The results of the CWEQF model are more accurate than those of the CW model. Still the simplicity of the CW model is retained. The quantum force was obtained by defining a characteristic distance η(0) between two Feynman paths that enter the expression for the flux-flux correlation function. η(0) was considered independent of the position along the reaction path. The CWEQF leads to a lowering of the effective potential barrier. Here we develop the method to use position dependent η(0) values. The method is also generalized to two dimensions. Applications are carried out on one-dimensional model problems and the two-dimensional H + H(2) collinear reaction.

A variational principle in Wigner phase-space with applications to statistical mechanics.

We consider the Dirac-Frenkel variational principle in Wigner phase-space and apply it to the Wigner-Liouville equation for both imaginary and real time dynamical problems. The variational principle allows us to deduce the optimal time-evolution of the parameter-dependent Wigner distribution. It is shown that the variational principle can be formulated alternatively as a "principle of least action." Several low-dimensional problems are considered. In imaginary time, high-temperature classical distributions are "cooled" to arrive at low-temperature quantum Wigner distributions whereas in real time, the coherent dynamics of a particle in a double well is considered. Especially appealing is the relative ease at which Feynman's path integral centroid variable can be incorporated as a variational parameter. This is done by splitting the high-temperature Boltzmann distribution into exact local centroid constrained distributions, which are thereafter cooled using the variational principle. The local distributions are sampled by Metropolis Monte Carlo by performing a random walk in the centroid variable. The combination of a Monte Carlo and a variational procedure enables the study of quantum effects in low-temperature many-body systems, via a method that can be systematically improved.

Classical Wigner method with an effective quantum force: application to reaction rates.

We construct an effective "quantum force" to be used in the classical molecular dynamics part of the classical Wigner method when determining correlation functions. The quantum force is obtained by estimating the most important short time separation of the Feynman paths that enter into the expression for the correlation function. The evaluation of the force is then as easy as classical potential energy evaluations. The ideas are tested on three reaction rate problems. The resulting transmission coefficients are in much better agreement with accurate results than transmission coefficients from the ordinary classical Wigner method.

Femtosecond photolysis of aqueous formamide.

In this work, we investigate the primary photodynamics of aqueous formamide. The formamide was photolyzed using 200 nm femtosecond pulses, and formation of products and their relaxation was followed with approximately 300 fs time resolution using probe pulses covering the range from 193 to 700 nm. Following excitation, the majority of formamide molecules (approximately 80%) converts the electronic excitation energy to vibrational excitation, which effectively is dissipated to the solvent through vibrational relaxation in just a few picoseconds. The vibrational relaxation is observed as a distinct modulation of the electronic absorption spectrum of formamide. The relaxation process is modeled by a simple one-dimensional wavepacket calculation. A smaller fraction of the excited formamide molecules dissociates to the CHO and NH2 radical pairs, of which 50% escape recombination. In addition to the electronic excitation of formamide, we also observe a small contribution from one-photon ionization of formamide and two-photon ionization and dissociation of the water solvent.

Feynman-Kleinert Linearized Path Integral (FK-LPI) Algorithms for Quantum Molecular Dynamics, with Application to Water and He(4).

The Feynman-Kleinert Linearized Path Integral (FK-LPI) representation of quantum correlation functions is extended in applications and algorithms. Diffusion including quantum effects for a flexible simple point charge model of liquid water is explored, including new tests of internal consistency. An ab initio quantum correction factor (QCF) is also obtained to correct the far-infrared spectrum of water. After correction, a spectrum based on a classical simulation is in good agreement with the experiment. The FK-LPI QCF is shown to be superior to the so-called harmonic QCF. New computational algorithms are introduced so that the quantum Boltzmann Wigner phase-space density, the central object in the implementation, can be obtained for arbitrary potentials. One scheme requires only that the standard classical force routine be replaced when turning from one molecular problem to another. The new algorithms are applied to the calculation of the Van Hove spectrum of liquid He(4) at 27 K. The spectrum moments are in very good agreement with the experiment. These observations indicate that the FK-LPI approach can be broadly effective for molecular problems involving the dynamics of light nuclei.

Static and dynamic quantum effects in molecular liquids: a linearized path integral description of water.

Structure, transport properties, and IR spectra including quantum effects are calculated for a flexible simple point charge model of liquid water. A recently introduced combination of a variational local harmonic description of the liquid potential surface and the classical Wigner approximation for the dynamics is used. The potential energy and interatomic radial distribution functions are in good agreement with accurate results from the literature and are significantly closer to experiment than predictions found from classical theory. The oxygen and hydrogen velocity correlation functions are also calculated, and the corresponding molecular diffusion coefficient is in good accord with existing theoretical estimates including quantum effects. Of most interest, an ab initio quantum correction factor is obtained to correct the far IR spectrum of water. When corrected, a spectrum based on a classical simulation yields results that agree well with experiment. Combined with internal tests of consistency, these observations indicate that this quite flexible approach will be effective for a variety of molecular problems involving the dynamics of light nuclei.

Direct dynamics study of ultrafast vibrational energy relaxation in ice Ih.

Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics (CPMD) and a previously developed wave packet model are used to study ultrafast relaxation in water clusters. Water clusters of 15 water molecules are used to represent ice Ih. The relaxation is studied by exciting a symmetric or an asymmetric stretch mode of the central water molecule. The CPMD results suggest that relaxation occurs within 100 fs. This is in agreement with experimental work by Woutersen and Bakker and the earlier wave packet calculations. The CPMD results further indicate that the excitation energy is transferred both intramolecularly and intermolecularly on roughly the same time scale. The intramolecular energy transfer occurs predominantly between the symmetric and asymmetric modes while the bend mode is largely left unexcited on the short time scale studied here.