Exact, Born-Oppenheimer, and quantum-chemistry-like calculations in helium clusters doped with light molecules: The He2N2(X) system

Helium clusters doped with diatomic molecules, He(N)-BC, have been recently studied by means of a quantum-chemistry-like approach. The model treats He atoms as "electrons" and dopants as "nuclei" in standard electronic structure calculations. Due to the large mass difference between He atoms and electrons, and to the replacement of Coulomb interactions by intermolecular potentials, it is worth assessing up to what extent are the approximations involved in this model, i.e., decoupling of the BC rotation from the He-atom orbital angular momenta and Born-Oppenheimer separation of the BC stretch versus the He motions, accurate enough. These issues have been previously tackled elsewhere for the (4)He(2)-Br(2)(X) system, which contains a heavy dopant [Roncero et al., Int. J. Quantum Chem. 107, 2756 (2007)]. Here, we consider a similar cluster but with a much lighter dopant such as N(2)(X). Although the model does not provide the correct energy levels for the cluster, positions and intensities of the main detectable lines of the vibrotational Raman spectrum at low temperature are accurately reproduced.

Ab initiovibrational predissociation dynamics of He–I2(B) complex

Three-dimensional quantum mechanical calculations on the vibrational predissociation dynamics of HeI2 B state complex are performed using a potential energy surface accurately fitted to unrestricted open-shell coupled cluster ab initio data, further enabling extrapolation for large I2 bond lengths. A Lanczos iterative method with an optimized complex absorbing potential is used to determine energies and lifetimes of the vibrationally predissociating He,I2(B,v') complex for v'<or=26 of I2 vibrational excitations. The calculated predissociating state energies agree with recent experimental results within 0.5 cm(-1). This excellent agreement is remarkable since no adjustment was made with respect to the experiments. The present ab initio approach, however, shows its limitations in the fact that the computed lifetimes that are highly sensitive to subtle details of the potential energy surfaces such as anisotropy, are a factor of 1.5 larger than the available experimental data.

Ab initio potential energy surface and spectrum of the B(Π3) state of the HeI2 complex

The three-dimensional interaction potential for I2(B 3Pi0u+)+He is computed using accurate ab initio methods and a large basis set. Scalar relativistic effects are accounted for by large-core relativistic pseudopotentials for the iodine atoms. Using multireference configuration interaction calculations with subsequent treatment of spin-orbit coupling, it is shown for linear and perpendicular structures of the complex that the interaction potential for I2(B 3Pi0u+)+He is very well approximated by the average of the 3A' and 3A" interaction potentials obtained without spin-orbit coupling. The three-dimensional 3A' and 3A" interaction potentials are computed at the unrestricted open-shell coupled-cluster level of theory using large basis sets. Bound state calculations based on the averaged surface are carried out and binding energies, vibrationally averaged structures, and frequencies are determined. These results are found to be in excellent accord with recent experimental measurements from laser-induced fluorescence and action spectra of HeI2. Furthermore, in combination with a recent X-state potential, the spectral blueshift is obtained and compared with available experimental values.

A full-configuration interaction “nuclear orbital” method to study doped HeN3 clusters (N⩽4)

An efficient full configuration interaction (FCI) treatment, based on the Jacobi-Davidson algorithm, is developed in order to study small doped (3)He(N) clusters. The state of each He atom in a given cluster is described by a set of wave-functions which by extention of the quantum-chemistry notation are caller here "nuclear orbitals". The FCI treatment is applied to the calculation of binding energies and helium natural orbitals of (3)He(N)...Br(2)(X) complexes. In agreement with our previous calculations using a Hartree-Fock approach [Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 053401 (2004)], in which the He-He interaction is modified at small distances to account for short-range correlation effects, the lowest-energy states of each multiplet are found to be very close in energy. The natural orbital analysis, in turn, indicates the adequacy of the "nuclear orbital" approach in these systems.

A theoretical study of He2ICl van der Waals cluster

The structure, energetics, and dynamics of He2ICl complex in its ground state are studied by means of ab initio electronic structure and quantum-mechanical calculations. Interaction energies for selected He2ICl configurations are calculated at the coupled-cluster [CCSD(T)] level of theory using a large-core pseudopotential for the I atom and the aug-cc-pVTZ and aug-cc-pV5Z basis sets for the Cl and He atoms, respectively. The surface is characterized around its lower five minima and the minimum energy pathways through them. The global minimum of the potential corresponds to a "police-nightstick (1)" configuration, the second one to a linear, the next one to tetrahedral configuration, and the following two to "bifork" and "police-nightstick (2)" structures, with well depths of -99.12, -97.42, -88.32, -85.84, and -78.54 cm(-1), respectively. An analytical form based on the sum of the three-body parametrized HeICl interactions plus the He-He interaction is found to represent very well the tetra-atomic CSSD(T) results. The present potential expression is employed to perform variational five-dimensional quantum-mechanical calculations to study the vibrational bound states of the van der Waals He2ICl complex. Results for total angular momentum J = 0 provide the binding energy D0 and the corresponding vibrationally averaged structure for different isomers of the cluster. Comparison of these results with recent experimental observations further justifies the potential used in this work.

Vibrational quenching of CO2(010) by collisions with O(P3) at thermal energies: A quantum-mechanical study

The CO(2)(010)-O((3)P) vibrational energy transfer (VET) efficiency is a key input to aeronomical models of the energy budget of the upper atmospheres of Earth, Venus, and Mars. This work addresses the physical mechanisms responsible for the high efficiency of the VET process at the thermal energies existing in the terrestrial upper atmosphere (150 K</=T</=550 K). We present a quantum-mechanical study of the process within a reduced-dimensionality approach. In this model, all the particles remain along a plane and the O((3)P) atom collides along the C(2v) symmetry axis of CO(2), which can present bending oscillations around the linear arrangement, while the stretching C-O coordinates are kept fixed at their equilibrium values. Two kinds of scattering calculations are performed on high-quality ab initio potential energy surfaces (PESs). In the first approach, the calculations are carried out separately for each one of the three PESs correlating to O((3)P). In the second approach, nonadiabatic effects induced by spin-orbit couplings (SOC) are also accounted for. The results presented here provide an explanation to some of the questions raised by the experiments and aeronomical observations. At thermal energies, nonadiabatic transitions induced by SOC play a key role in causing large VET efficiencies, the process being highly sensitive to the initial fine-structure level of oxygen. At higher energies, the two above-mentioned approaches tend to coincide towards an impulsive Landau-Teller mechanism of the vibrational to translational (V-T) energy transfer.

Rovibrational Structures in Floppy Triatomics: Distributed Gaussian Functions Treatment for the Ne2H- System

The full sequence of the bound states for a very floppy triatomic complex, Ne2H- in its ground electronic state, are initially computed for the rotationless situation and employing a variational approach that expands the total nuclear wave function over a large set of symmetry-adapted, distributed Gaussian functions and employs accurate atom-atom potential energy data. The results are tested for numerical convergence, compared with the behavior of both its diatomic fragments, Ne2 and NeH-, and further compared with the results for the Ne3 case. The computational analysis is extended to the production of the rotational constants for the very nonclassical ground state vibrational configuration by making use of the previous findings. The method is shown to provide us with several illuminating details on the nanoscopic internal dynamics of this very weakly bound quantum aggregate.

Br2(X) Microsolvation in Helium Clusters: Effect of the Interaction on the Quantum Solvent Density Distribution

The Born-Oppenheimer potential energy surface for the Br2(X) molecule interacting with a varying number of 4He bosons is constructed following two different schemes which employ either a full ab initio evaluation of the Br2-He interaction forces or an estimate of the latter through an empirical model. Both descriptions are employed by carrying out diffusion Monte Carlo (DMC) calculations of the ground-state energies and quantum wavefunctions for Br2-(He)n clusters with n up to 24. The results clearly indicate, for both interactions, the occurrence of the full solvation of the molecular dopant within the quantum bosonic "solvent" but also show differences between the two models in terms of the expected density distributions of the surrounding particles within the shorter-range region that makes up the clusters with smaller n values. Our calculations also show that such differences become insignificant for the larger 4He clusters surrounding the Br2 molecule, where density profiles and bulk behaviour are chiefly driven by the solvent structure, once n values reach the region of 15-20 adatoms.

Bound-state energies in argon trimers via a variational expansion: The effects from many-body corrections

In this paper we study the bound-state energies and geometries of Ar(3) for J=0, using the distributed Gaussian functions method that provides a configurational description of the different structures contributing to these states. Atom-atom potentials are employed and three-body long-range effects are also included in the computational treatment by adding to the sum of potentials the Axilrod-Teller triple-dipole correction for the whole rotationless energy spectrum. An estimate of the total number of bound states for the Ar trimer is given. With respect to previous calculations, limited to the lower-lying states, our results show slightly larger nonadditive effects and are further able to predict the full range of the bound spectrum. Changes on the geometries of a large part of the vibrationally excited states of Ar(3) when the Axilrod-Teller term is included in the molecular potential are found by the present study.

The binding of He4 and He3 to a hydrogen molecule: A computational study for pH2 and oH2

One bound state for the very weakly interacting complex of H(2) with one He atom is computed using a recently obtained, very accurate potential energy surface [A. I. Boothroyd and P. G. Martin, J. Chem. Phys. 119, 3187 (2003)] and employing a discrete variable representation expansion. The spatial features of this very diffused, "halo" state are analyzed and discussed for various isotopic variants of the title system.

A complete configurational study for the bound states of Ne trimers

The structural properties and the energetics of the ground and the excited bound states of Ne(3) for zero total angular momentum are examined using different modelings for the two-body interactions. We employ a method consisting of a variational approach with a distributed Gaussian functions (DGF) basis set expansion. We discuss at length the advantages and possible limitations of such an approach, comparing it to other methods which have been applied in the literature to the same system. The DGF method turns out to be very accurate in giving us the bound states energetics and also provides in a natural way a convincing pictorial description of all the states, including those with dominant linear configurations. Additional bound states are found for the Ne(3) system with respect to those indicated in previous works and we suggest a "stabilization" procedure that can be used to assess the truly bound nature of a state. Some considerations on the relative reliability of the examined two-body interactions are also reported.

Ab initio calculations, potential representation and vibrational dynamics of He2Br2 van der Waals complex

An intermolecular potential energy surface for He(2)Br(2) complex in the ground state is calculated at the levels of fourth-order (MP4) Moller-Plesset and coupled-cluster [CCSD(T)] approximations, using large-core pseudopotential for Br atoms and the aug-cc-pV5Z basis set for He. The surface is characterized by three minima and the minimum energy pathways through them. The global minimum corresponds to a linear He-Br(2)-He configuration, while the two other ones to "police-nightstick" and tetrahedral structures. The corresponding well depths are -90.39/-89.18, -81.23/-80.78 and -74.40/-74.02 cm(-1), respectively, at MP4/CCSD(T) levels of theory. It is found that results obtained by summing three-body parametrized HeBr(2) interactions and the He-He interaction are in very good accord with the corresponding MP4/CSSD(T) configuration energies of the He(2)Br(2). Variational calculations using a sum of three-body interactions are presented to study the bound states of the vdW He(2)Br(2) complex. The binding energy D(0) and the corresponding vibrationally averaged structure are determined for different isomers of the cluster and their comparison with the available experimental data is discussed.

Raman spectra of (He)N-Br2(X) clusters: The role of boson/fermion statistics in a quantum solvent

The aim of this paper is to elucidate the role played by the bosonic/fermionic character of N He atoms solvating a Br2(X) molecule. To this end, an adiabatic model in the molecular stretching coordinate is assumed and the ground energy levels of the complexes are searched by means of Hartree (or Hartree-Fock) Quantum Chemistry calculations for 4He (or 3He) solvent atoms. Simulations of vib-rotational Raman spectra point at the spin multiplicity as the main feature responsible for the drastic difference in the rotational structures of molecules embedded in boson or fermion helium drops as already observed by the experiments of Grebenev et al. [S. Grebenev, J. P. Toennies, and A. F. Vilesov, Science 279 (1998) 2083].

Role of boson-fermion statistics on the Raman spectra of Br2(X) in helium clusters

The role played by the bosonic or fermionic character of He atoms surrounding a Br2(X) molecule is analyzed through vibrotational Raman spectra simulations. Quantum chemistry-type calculations reveal the spin multiplicity to be chiefly responsible for the drastic difference observed by Grebenev et al. [Science 279, 2083 (1998)]] in the rotational structure of molecules embedded in helium droplets.

The open-shell interaction of He with the B 3Πu(0+) state of Br2: Anab initiostudy and its comparison with a diatomics-in-molecule perturbation model

The interaction of He with Br2 in electronically excited B 3Piu state is investigated using spin-unrestricted single and double coupled-cluster approach with noniterative perturbative treatment of triple excitations. Internal electrons of the Br atom are described by effective core pseudopotentials. The validity of this approach is analyzed by comparing the lowest 2Sigma+ and 2Pi electronic states of the HeBr molecule with those obtained in all electron calculations [J. Chem. Phys. 115, 10438 (2001)]. In this context, we examine the performance of different basis sets and saturation with bond functions. The comparison of theoretical blue-shifts with the experiment provides confidence about the present ab initio calculations. In addition, He-Br results of ab initio calculations at the same level are used to obtain approximate He-Br2 (3Piu) interactions in the framework of the diatomics-in-molecule first order perturbation theory (IDIM-PT1) [J. Chem. Phys. 104, 9913 (1996)]. Overall, the IDIM-PT1 model results show a good agreement with the ab initio ones, being the main difference the sensitivity to the elongation of the Br-Br bond.