Ab initio calculations for the far infrared collision induced absorption by N2 gas.

We present (far-infrared) Collision Induced Absorption (CIA) spectra calculations for pure gaseous N2 made for the first time, from first-principles. They were carried out using classical molecular dynamics simulations based on ab initio predictions of both the intermolecular potential and the induced-dipole moment. These calculations reproduce satisfactory well the experimental values (intensity and band profile) with agreement within 3% at 149 K. With respect to results obtained with only the long range (asymptotic) dipole moment (DM), including the short range overlap contribution improves the band intensity and profile at 149 K, but it deteriorates them at 296 K. The results show that the relative contribution of the short range DM to the band intensity is typically around 10%. We have also examined the sensitivity of the calculated CIA to the intermolecular potential anisotropy, providing a test of the so-called isotropic approximation used up to now in all N2 CIA calculations. As all these effects interfere simultaneously with quantitatively similar influences (around 10%), it is rather difficult to assert which one could explain remaining deviations with the experimental results. Furthermore, the rather large uncertainties and sometimes inconsistencies of the available measurements forbid any definitive conclusion, stressing the need for new experiments.

Long-range interactions in the ozone molecule: Spectroscopic and dynamical points of view.

Using the multipolar expansion of the electrostatic energy, we characterized the asymptotic interactions between an oxygen atom O((3)P) and an oxygen molecule O(2)((3)Σ(g)(-)), both in their electronic ground state. We calculated the interaction energy induced by the permanent electric quadrupoles of O and O(2) and the van der Waals energy. On one hand, we determined the 27 electronic potential energy surfaces including spin-orbit connected to the O((3)P) + O(2)((3)Σ(g)(-)) dissociation limit of the O-O(2) complex. On the other hand, we computed the potential energy curves characterizing the interaction between O((3)P) and a rotating O(2)((3)Σ(g)(-)) molecule in its lowest vibrational level. Such curves are found adiabatic to a good approximation, namely, they are only weakly coupled to each other. These results represent a first step for modeling the spectroscopy of ozone bound levels close to the dissociation limit, as well as the low energy collisions between O and O(2) thus complementing the knowledge relevant for the ozone formation mechanism.

Transition state theory thermal rate constants and RRKM-based branching ratios for the N((2)D) + CH(4) reaction based on multi-state and multi-reference ab initio calculations of interest for the Titan's chemistry.

Multireference single and double configuration interaction (MRCI) calculations including Davidson (+Q) or Pople (+P) corrections have been conducted in this work for the reactants, products, and extrema of the doublet ground state potential energy surface involved in the N((2)D) + CH(4) reaction. Such highly correlated ab initio calculations are then compared with previous PMP4, CCSD(T), W1, and DFT/B3LYP studies. Large relative differences are observed in particular for the transition state in the entrance channel resolving the disagreement between previous ab initio calculations. We confirm the existence of a small but positive potential barrier (3.86 ± 0.84 kJ mol(-1) (MR-AQCC) and 3.89 kJ mol(-1) (MRCI+P)) in the entrance channel of the title reaction. The correlation is seen to change significantly the energetic position of the two minima and five saddle points of this system together with the dissociation channels but not their relative order. The influence of the electronic correlation into the energetic of the system is clearly demonstrated by the thermal rate constant evaluation and it temperature dependance by means of the transition state theory. Indeed, only MRCI values are able to reproduce the experimental rate constant of the title reaction and its behavior with temperature. Similarly, product branching ratios, evaluated by means of unimolecular RRKM theory, confirm the NH production of Umemoto et al., whereas previous works based on less accurate ab initio calculations failed. We confirm the previous findings that the N((2)D) + CH(4) reaction proceeds via an insertion-dissociation mechanism and that the dominant product channels are CH(2)NH + H and CH(3) + NH.

Nonadiabatic quantum dynamics of C(1D)+H2→CH+H: coupled-channel calculations including Renner-Teller and Coriolis terms.

The Renner-Teller (RT) coupled-channel dynamics for the C((1)D)+H(2)(X(1)Σ(g) (+))→CH(X(2)Π)+H((2)S) reaction has been investigated for the first time, considering the first two singlet states ã̃(1)A' and b(1)A'' of CH(2) dissociating into the products and RT couplings, evaluated through the ab initio matrix elements of the electronic angular momentum. We have obtained initial-state-resolved probabilities, cross sections and thermal rate constants via the real wavepacket method for both coupled electronic states. In contrast to the N((2)D)+H(2)(X(1)Σ(g)(+)) system, RT effects tend to reduce probabilities, cross sections, and rate constants in the low energy range compared to Born-Oppenheimer (BO) ones, due to the presence of a repulsive RT barrier in the effective potentials and to long-lived resonances. Furthermore, contrary to BO results, the rate constants have a positive temperature dependence in the 100-400 K range. The two-state RT rate constant at 300 K, lower than the BO one, remains inside the error bars of the experimental value.

Theoretical sensitivity of the C((3)P) + OH(X(2)Pi) --> CO(X(1)Sigma(+)) + H((2)S) rate constant: the role of the long-range potential.

Faced with the lack of experimental data on the C(3P) + OH(X2Pi) --> CO(X1Sigma+) + H(2S) reaction, we propose here to compare rate constant values and their behavior with temperature following various dynamical models and, in particular, to check the sensivity of these quantities with the long-range part of the potential energy surface. For that, we have evaluated the C + OH rate constant using the quasiclassical trajectory (QCT) method, the adiabatic capture centrifugal sudden approximation (ACCSA), and the mean potential capture theory (MPCT) based on a full ab initio potential energy surface fitted with q12,5 kernels or on a perturbative multipolar expansion (MPE) potential including the monomer spin orbit splittings (MPE-SO) or not. Despite the various approximations involved in the different methods and PESs, an excellent agreement is obtained in a subset of three models: the ACCSA method with PME-SO or ab initio PESs and the QCT method with the latter PES. This suggests that the reaction takes place once the system enters the deep valley of products. In that case, the errors due to these approximate methods and PESs are small and, consequently, the rate constants are accurately calculated. Furthermore, these findings provide evidence of preponderance of the entrance channel in the reactivity of this system.

Quantum dynamics of the C(1D)+HD and C(1D)+n-D2 reactions on the ã 1A' and b 1A" surfaces.

We present the Born-Oppenheimer, quantum dynamics of the reactions C((1)D)+HD and C((1)D)+n-D(2) on the uncoupled potential energy surfaces ã (1)A' and b (1)A", considering the Coriolis interactions and the nuclear-spin statistics. Using the real wavepacket method, we obtain initial-state-resolved probabilities, cross sections, isotopic branching ratios, and rate constants. Similarly to the C+n-H(2) reaction, the probabilities present many ã (1)A' or few b (1)A" sharp resonances, and the cross sections are very large at small collision energies and decrease at higher energies. At any initial condition, the C+HD reaction gives preferentially the CD+H products. Thermal cross sections, isotopic branching ratios, and rate constant k vary slightly with temperature and agree very well with the experimental values. At 300 K, we obtain for the various products k(CH+H)=(2.45+/-0.08) x 10(-10), k(CD+H)=(1.19+/-0.04) x 10(-10), k(CH+D)=(0.71+/-0.02) x 10(-10), k(CD+D)=(1.59+/-0.05) x 10(-10) cm(3) s(-1), and k(CD+H)/k(CH+D)=1.68+/-0.01. The b (1)A" contribution to cross sections and rate constants is always large, up to a maximum value of 62% for a rotationally resolved C+D(2) rate constant. The upper b (1)A" state is thus quite important in the C((1)D) collision with H(2) and its deuterated isotopes, as the agreement between theory and experiment shows.

Si(3P) + OH(X2Pi) interaction: long-range multipolar potentials of the eighteen spin-orbit states.

Eighteen spin-orbit states are generated from the open-shell open-shell Si((3)P) + OH(X(2)Pi) interacting system. We present here the behavior of the associated long-range intermolecular potentials, following a multipolar expansion of the Coulombic interaction treated up to second order of the perturbation theory, giving rise to a series of terms varying in R(-n). In the present work, we have considered the electrostatic dipole-quadrupole (n = 4) and quadrupole-quadrupole (n = 5) interactions, as well as the dipole-induced dipole-induced dispersion (n = 6) and dipole-dipole-induced induction (n = 6) contributions. The diatomic OH is kept fixed at its ground state-averaged distance, (r)(v=0) = 1.865 bohr, so that the long-range potentials are two-dimensional potential energy surfaces (PESs) that depend on the intermolecular distance R and on the bending angle gamma = angleSiGH, where G represents the mass center of OH. From the calculated properties of the monomers, such as the dipole and quadrupole moments and static and dynamic polarizabilities, we have determined and tabulated the long-range coefficients of the multipolar expansion of the potentials for each matrix elements. The isolated monomer spin-orbit splittings have been included in the final matrix, whose diagonalization gives rise to 18 adiabatic potentials. Then, the adiabatic states have been compared to potential energies given by supermolecular ab initio calculations resulting in a general good overall agreement.

Born-Oppenheimer quantum dynamics of the C((1)D)+H(2) reaction on the CH(2) ã (1)A(1) and b (1)B(1) surfaces.

We present the Born-Oppenheimer coupled-channel dynamics of the reaction (12)C((1)D)+(1)H(2)(X (1)Sigma(g) (+))-->CH(X (2)Pi)+H((2)S), considering the uncoupled CH(2) states ã (1)A(1) and b (1)B(1), the permutation-inversion symmetry, and Coriolis interactions. Using accurate MRCI potential energy surfaces (PESs), we obtain initial-state-resolved reaction probabilities, cross sections, and rate constants through the time-dependent, real wavepacket (WP) and flux methods, taking into account the proton-spin statistics for both electronic species. Comparing results on both PESs, we point out the role of the b (1)B(1) upper state on the initial-state-resolved dynamics and on the thermal kinetic rate. WP probabilities at J=0 and cross sections at E(col)=0.080 eV agree quite well with quantum-mechanical time-independent findings. Probabilities and WP snapshots show the different reaction mechanisms on the PESs, i.e., an ã (1)A(1) indirect perpendicular insertion and a b (1)B(1) direct sideways collision, associated with many and few sharp resonances, respectively. All cross sections are very large at low E(col), decrease at high energies, and that of the lowest reactant state presents some weak resonances. As the temperature increases from 100 to 400 K, the ã (1)A(1) rate constant increases slightly from 1.37x10(-10) to 1.43x10(-10) cm(3) s(-1), whereas the b (1)B(1) one decreases from 1.30x10(-10) to 0.98x10(-10) cm(3) s(-1). In this temperature range, the b (1)B(1) contribution to the total rate constant thus decreases from 49% to 41%. At 300 K, the WP and experimental rates are equal to (2.45+/-0.08)x10(-10) and (2.0+/-0.6)x10(-10) cm(3) s(-1), respectively.

Study of the C(3P) + OH(X2Pi) --> CO(a3Pi) + H(2S) reaction: fully global ab initio potential energy surfaces of the 12A'' and 14A'' excited states and non adiabatic couplings.

We report in this paper ab initio calculations of the potential energy surfaces (PESs) for the four states involved in the C((3)P) + OH(X(2)Pi)--> CO(a(3)Pi) + H((2)S) reaction as well as numerical values of the rate constants for two states, 1(2)A'' and 1(4)A'' which show no potential barriers during the reaction. In contrast, the other two states, i.e. the 2(2)A' and 1(4)A' states, are energetically not favourable to the reaction as the first state has a potential barrier of 0.2 eV in the entrance channel and the former one presents long range potential wells and repulsive wall for carbon approaches near OH. The ab initio calculations of the potential energies have been performed at the multireference internally contracted single and double configuration interaction (MR-SDCI) level corrected for its size-inconsistency by the Davidson method (+Q), and using Dunning aug-cc-pVQZ atomic basis sets. Global PESs have then been generated for the two A'' states from an analytical fit obtained with the reproducing kernel Hilbert space method on a large number of ab initio points located on a regular grid in Jacobi coordinates. The title reaction is much less exoergic (-0.41 eV) than the one on the ground state and each state presents many extrema (four for the 1(2)A'' and eight for the 1(4)A''). From the configuration and energy of these extrema, different reaction mechanisms are suggested depending on the collision energy. Quasi-classical trajectory calculations on these global PESs have been used to estimate reactive cross-sections as functions of the collision energy and thermal rate constant as a function of the temperature. The weighted rate constant for each state, i.e. including the spin-orbit population factor, increases with the temperature contrary to the ground state one. Nevertheless, a decreasing behaviour with the temperature remains between 10 and 500 K if we consider the total rate constant of C((3)P) + OH(X(2)Pi), sum of the three reactive states rate constants.

Time-dependent wave packet and quasiclassical trajectory study of the C(3P) + OH(X 2Pi) --> CO(X 1Sigma+) + H(2S) reaction at the state-to-state level.

The first calculations of state-to-state reaction probabilities and product state-resolved integral cross sections at selected collision energies (0.05, 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 eV) for the title reaction on the ab initio potential energy surface of [Zanchet et al. J. Phys. Chem. A 110, 12017 (2006)] with the OH reagent in selected rovibrational states (v = 0-2, j = 0-5) have been carried out by means of the real wave packet (RWP) and quasiclassical trajectory (QCT) methods. State-selected total reaction probabilities have been calculated for total angular momentum J = 0 in a broad range of collision energies. Integral cross sections and state-specific rate coefficients have been obtained from the corresponding J = 0 RWP reaction probabilities for initially selected rovibrational states by means of a capture model. The calculated RWP and QCT state-selected rate coefficients are practically temperature independent. Both RWP and QCT reaction probabilities, integral cross sections, and rate coefficients are almost independent of the initial rotational excitation. The RWP results are found to be in an overall good agreement with the corresponding QCT results. The present results have been compared with earlier wave packet calculations carried out on the same potential energy surface.

Long-range multipolar potentials of the 18 spin-orbit states arising from the C(3P) + OH(X 2Pi) interaction.

We present multipolar potentials at large intermolecular distances for the 18 doubly degenerate spin-orbit states arising from the interaction between the two open-shell systems, C((3)P) and OH(X (2)Pi). With OH fixed at its ground vibrational state-averaged distance r(0), the long-range potentials are two-dimensional potential energy surfaces (PESs) that depend on the intermolecular distance R and the angle gamma = CGH, where G represents the mass center of OH. The 18x18 diabatic potential matrix elements are built up from the perturbation theory up to second order and from a two-center expansion of the Coulombic interaction potential, resulting in a multipolar expansion of the potential expressed as a series of terms varying in R(-n). The expressions for the long-range coefficients of the expansion are explicitly given in terms of monomer properties such as permanent multipole moments, and static and dynamic polarizabilities. Accurate values for the monomer properties are used to properly determine the long-range interaction coefficients. The diagonalization of the full 18x18 potential matrix generates adiabatic long-range PESs in good agreement with their ab initio counterparts.

Linewidths of C2H2 perturbed by H2: experiments and calculations from an ab initio potential.

In this work we present a theoretical and experimental study of the acetylene-hydrogen system. A potential surface considering rigid monomers has been obtained by ab initio quantum chemistry methods. This 4-dimensional potential is further employed to compute, using the close-coupling approach and the coupled-states approximation, pressure broadening coefficients of C2H2 isotropic Raman Q lines over a temperature range of 77 to 2000 K. Experimental data for the acetylene nu2 Raman lines broadened by molecular hydrogen are obtained using stimulated Raman spectroscopy. The comparison of theoretical values with experimental data at 143 K is promising. Approximations to increase the computational efficiency are proposed.

Differential cross sections and product energy distributions for the C(3P)+OH(X 2Pi)-->CO(X 1Sigma+)+H(2S) reaction using a quasiclassical trajectory method.

Quasiclassical trajectory calculations have been carried out for the C((3)P)+OH(X (2)Pi)-->CO(X (1)Sigma(+))+H((2)S) reaction using a recent ab initio potential energy surface for the ground electronic state X (2)A(') of COH. Differential cross sections (DCSs), and product vibrational, rotational and translational distributions have been determined for a wide range of collision energies (0.001-1 eV). The role of excitations (rotation or vibration) of the OH reactant on these quantities has been investigated. Product vibrational, rotational, and translational distributions are found to be almost independent on the rovibrational state of OH, whereas DCSs show a weak dependence on the initial rotational state of OH. We also analyze the results using a study based on the lifetime of the intermediate complex and on the kinematic constraint associated with the mass combination.

Q-branch linewidths of N2 perturbed by H2: experiments and quantum calculations from an ab initio potential.

In this work the authors present an experimental and theoretical study about the Q-branch lines' broadening coefficients of N2 perturbed by H2. Experimental values for these parameters have been obtained at 440 and 580 K, and quantum calculations have been performed using a new ab initio potential energy surface, obtained by quantum chemistry methods. The results of these calculations are compared to experimental data obtained previously at 77 and 298 K [L. Gomez et al., Mol. Phys. 104, 1869 (2006)] and to the present measurements. A satisfactory agreement is obtained for the whole range of temperatures used in the experiments.

Cross sections and rate constants for the C(3P)+OH(X 2Pi)-->CO(X 1Sigma+)+H(2S) reaction using a quasiclassical trajectory method.

First quasiclassical trajectory calculations have been carried out for the C(3P)+OH(X 2Pi)-->CO(X 1Sigma+)+H(2S) reaction using a recent ab initio potential energy surface for the ground electronic state, X 2A', of HCO/COH. Total and state-specific integral cross sections have been determined for a wide range of collision energies (0.001-1 eV). Then, thermal and state-specific rate constants have been calculated in the 1-500 K temperature range. The thermal rate constant varies from 1.78x10(-10) cm3 s-1 at 1 K down to 5.96x10(-11) cm3 s-1 at 500 K with a maximum value of 3.39x10(-10) cm3 s-1 obtained at 7 K. Cross sections and rate constants are found to be almost independent of the rovibrational state of OH.

Study of the C(3P) + OH(X2Pi) --> CO(X1Sigma(g)+) + H(2S) reaction: a fully global ab initio potential energy surface of the X2A' state.

The C((3)P) + OH(X (2)Pi) --> CO(X (1)Sigma(g)(+)) + H((2)S) reaction has been investigated by ab initio electronic structure calculations of the X(2)A' state based on the multireference (MR) internally contracted single and double configuration interaction (SDCI) method plus Davidson correction (+Q) using Dunning aug-cc-pVQZ basis sets. In particular, the multireference space is taken to be a complete active space (CAS). Improvement over previously proposed potential energy surfaces for HCO/COH is obtained in the sense that present surface describes also the potential part where the CO interatomic distance is large. A large number of geometries (around 2000) have been calculated and analytically fitted using the reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS) method of Ho and Rabitz both for the two-body and three-body terms following the many-body decomposition of the total electronic energies. Results show that the global reaction is highly exothermic ( approximately 6.4 eV) and barrierless (relative to the reactant channel), while five potential barriers are located on this surface. The three minima and five saddle points observed are characterized and found to be in good agreement with previous work. The three minima correspond to the formation of HCO and COH complexes and to the CO + H products, with the COH complex being a metastable minimum relative to the product channel. The five saddle points correspond to potential barriers for both the dissociation/formation of HCO and COH into/from CO + H, to barriers for the isomerization of HCO into COH and to barriers for the inversion of HCO and COH through their respective linear configuration.

Theoretical spectroscopy of the calcium dimer in the A 1Sigma(u)+, c3Pi(u), and a3Sigma(u)+ manifolds: an ab initio nonadiabatic treatment.

Nonadiabatic theory of molecular spectra of diatomic molecules is presented. It is shown that in the fully nonadiabatic framework, the rovibrational wave functions describing the nuclear motions in diatomic molecules can be obtained from a system of coupled differential equations. The rovibrational wave functions corresponding to various electronic states are coupled through the relativistic spin-orbit coupling interaction and through different radial and angular coupling terms, while the transition intensities can be written in terms of the ground state rovibrational wave function and bound rovibrational wave functions of all excited electronic states that are electric dipole connected with the ground state. This theory was applied in the nearly exact nonadiabatic calculations of energy levels, line positions, and intensities of the calcium dimer in the A (1)Sigma(u) (+)(1 (1)S+1 (1)D), c (3)Pi(u)(1 (3)P+1 (1)S), and a (3)Sigma(u) (+)(1 (3)P+1 (1)S) manifolds of states. The excited state potentials were computed using a combination of the linear response theory within the coupled-cluster singles and doubles framework for the core-core and core-valence electronic correlations and of the full configuration interaction for the valence-valence correlation, and corrected for the one-electron relativistic terms resulting from the first-order many-electron Breit theory. The electric transition dipole moment governing the A (1)Sigma(u) (+)<--X (1)Sigma(g) (+) transitions was obtained as the first residue of the frequency-dependent polarization propagator computed with the coupled-cluster method restricted to single and double excitations, while the spin-orbit and nonadiabatic coupling matrix elements were computed with the multireference configuration interaction wave functions restricted to single and double excitations. Our theoretical results explain semiquantitatively all the features of the observed Ca(2) spectrum in the A (1)Sigma(u) (+)(1 (1)S+1 (1)D), c (3)Pi(u)(1 (3)P+1 (1)S), and a (3)Sigma(u) (+)(1 (3)P+1 (1)S) manifolds of states.

Global 1 1A" potential energy surface of CH2 and quantum dynamics of a sideways insertion mechanism for the C(1D) + H2 --> CH(2pi) + H reaction.

A global adiabatic potential energy surface (PES) corresponding to the second singlet state 1 1A" (1 1B1) of CH2 has been computed in a similar way as the first singlet state 1 1A' in our previous work [B. Bussery-Honvault et al., J. Chem. Phys., 2001, 115, 10 701]. This PES has a calculated well depth of 79.9 kcal mol(-1) relative to the C(1D) + H2 asymptote and correlates to CH(2pi) + H. It presents large barriers in the C(1D) + H2 arrangement for both collinear and perpendicular geometries but no barrier for geometries about 60 degrees and leads to a sideways insertion mechanism for the reaction C(1D) + H2 --> CH(2pi) + H. The ab initio calculations were carried out for 4644 geometries and the resulting energies were fitted to a many-body expansion. Accurate three-dimensional quantum mechanical scattering calculations have been performed for the C(1D) + H2(v = 0, j = 0) reaction on this ab initio 1 1A" PES in the collision energy range [0-11.5 kcal mol(-1)]. The J = 0 reaction probabilities show dense resonance structures as those obtained with the 1 1A' PES. However some different dynamical features have been found.