The 3d Rydberg state of the BeH molecule

Significant increase in the stability of rare gas hydrides on insertion of beryllium atom

Chemical binding between a rare gas atom with other elements leading to the formation of stable chemical compounds has received considerable attention in recent years. With an intention to predict highly stable novel rare gas compounds, the process of insertion of beryllium atom into rare gas hydrides (HRgF with Rg=Ar, Kr, and Xe) has been investigated, which leads to the prediction of HBeRgF species. The structures, energetic, and charge distributions have been obtained using MP2, density functional theory, and CCSD(T) methods. Analogous to the well-known rare gas hydrides, HBeRgF species are found to be metastable in nature; however, the stabilization energy of the newly predicted species has been calculated to be significantly higher than that of HRgF species. Particularly, for HBeArF molecule, it has been found to be an order of magnitude higher. Strong chemical binding between beryllium and rare gas atom has also been found in the HBeArF, HBeKrF, and HBXeF molecules. In fact, the basis set superposition error and zero-point energy corrected Be-Ar bond energy calculated using CCSD(T) method has been found to be 112 kJ/mol, which is the highest bond energy ever achieved for a bond involving an argon atom in any chemically bound neutral species. Vibrational analysis reveals a large blueshift (approximately 200 cm(-1)) of the H-Be stretching frequency in HBeRgF with respect to that in BeH and HBeF species. This feature may be used to characterize these species after their preparation by the laser ablation of Be metal along with the photolysis of HF precursor in a suitable rare gas matrix. An analysis of the nature of interactions involved in the present systems has been performed using theory of atoms in molecules (AIM). Geometric as well as energetic considerations along with the AIM results suggest a substantial covalent nature of Be-Rg bond in these systems. Thus, insertion of a suitable metal atom into rare gas hydrides is a promising way to energetically stabilize the HRgX species, which eventually leads to the formation of a new class of insertion compounds, viz., rare gas metallohydrides.

Full configuration interaction calculation of the low lying valence and Rydberg states of BeH

The all-electron full configuration interaction (FCI) vertical excitation energies for some low lying valence and Rydberg excited states of BeH are presented in this article. A basis set of valence atomic natural orbitals has been augmented with a series of Rydberg orbitals that have been generated as centered onto the Be atom. The resulting basis set can be described as 4s2p1d/2s1p (Be/H) + 4s4p3d. It allows to calculate Rydberg states up to n= {3,4,5} of the s, p, and d series of Rydberg states. The FCI vertical ionization potential for the same basis set and geometry amounts to 8.298 eV. Other properties such as FCI electric dipole and quadrupole moments and FCI transition dipole and quadrupole moments have also been calculated. The results provide a set of benchmark values for energies, wave functions, properties, and transition properties for the five electron BeH molecule. Most of the states have large multiconfigurational character in spite of their essentially single excited nature and a number of them present an important Rydberg-valence mixing that is achieved through the mixed nature of the particle MO of the single excitations.

Insight into the Rydberg states of CH

Ab initio electronic structure calculations of a relatively large number of Rydberg states of the CH radical were carried out employing the multireference single and double excitation configuration interaction (MRD-CI) method. A Gaussian basis set of cc-pV5Z quality augmented with 12 diffuse functions was used together with an extensive treatment of electron correlation. The main focus of this contribution is to investigate the 3d Rydberg complex assigned by Watson [Astrophys. J. 555, 472 (2001)] to three unidentified interstellar bands. The authors' calculations reproduce quite well the absolute excitation energies of the three components of the 3d complex, i.e., 2Sigma+(3dsigma), 2Pi(3dpi), and 2Delta(3ddelta), but not the energy ordering inferred from a rotational assignment of the 3d<--X 2Pi laboratory spectrum. The computation of the 4d complex is reported for the first time along with a number of other higher lying Rydberg species with an X 1Sigma+ core. The lowest Rydberg states belonging to series converging to the a 3Pi and A 1Pi excited states of CH+ are also calculated.

Fourier Transform Emission Spectroscopy of the A2Pi-X2Sigma+ Transition of BeD

The A2Pi-X2Sigma+ Deltav = 0 sequence of BeD was observed in the 19 500-20 800 cm-1 spectral region using a Fourier transform spectrometer. The emission spectrum was excited in a Be hollow cathode discharge lamp with a He/D2 gas mixture. The observed lines were assigned to the 0-0 to 6-6 bands. The Deltav = -1 sequence was too weak to be seen in our Fourier transform spectra. We therefore used a previously recorded but unpublished arc emission spectrum to identify the 0-1 to 5-6 Deltav = -1 bands. Consequently, all of the diagonal bands could be linked together and the vibrational intervals determined. The Deltav = 0 and Deltav = -1 data were fitted together in a global fit and effective constants derived. Using the information available from the study of the C2Sigma+-X2Sigma+ system [R. Colin, C. Drèze, and M. Steinhauer, Can. J. Phys. 61, 641 (1983)], the v = 8-12 vibrational levels of the ground state were added in a Dunham fit. A set of Dunham Y constants was determined for the X2Sigma+ state along with traditional equilibrium parameters for the A2Pi excited state. The equilibrium bond lengths were found to be 1.341742(5) Å for the ground state and 1.33309(4) Å for the excited state. A reanalysis of the previously published A2Pi-X2Sigma+ 0-0 to 3-3 Deltav = 0 bands of BeT [D. De Greef and R. Colin, J. Mol. Spectrosc. 53, 455-465 (1974)] was also performed. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.