Bringing Machine-Learning Enhanced Quantum Chemistry and Microwave Spectroscopy to Conformational Landscape Exploration: the Paradigmatic Case of 4-Fluoro-Threonine

A combined experimental and theoretical study has been carried out on 4-fluoro-threonine, the only naturally occurring fluorinated amino acid. Fluorination of the methyl group significantly increases the conformational complexity with respect to the parent amino acid threonine. The conformational landscape has been characterized in great detail, with special attention given to the inter-conversion pathways between different conformers. This led to the identification of 13 stable low-energy minima. The equilibrium population of so many conformers produces a very complicated and congested rotational spectrum that could be assigned through a strategy that combines several levels of quantum chemical calculations with the principles of machine learning. Twelve conformers out of 13 could be experimentally characterized. The results obtained from the analysis of the intra-molecular interactions can be exploited to accurately model fluorine-substitution effects in biomolecules.

An improved study of HCO+ and He system: Interaction potential, collisional relaxation, and pressure broadening

In light of its ubiquitous presence in the interstellar gas, the chemistry and reactivity of the HCO⁺ ion requires special attention. The availability of up-to-date collisional data between this ion and the most abundant perturbing species in the interstellar medium is a critical resource in order to derive reliable values of its molecular abundance from astronomical observations. This work intends to provide improved scattering parameters for the HCO⁺ and He collisional system. We have tested the accuracy of explicitly correlated coupled-cluster methods for mapping the short- and long-range multi-dimensional potential energy surface of atom-ion systems. A validation of the methodology employed for the calculation of the potential well has been obtained from the comparison with experimentally derived bound-state spectroscopic parameters. Finally, by solving the close-coupling scattering equations, we have derived the pressure broadening and shift coefficients for the first six rotational transitions of HCO⁺ as well as inelastic state-to-state transition rates up to j = 5 in the 5-100 K temperature interval.

In search of phosphorus in astronomical environments: The reaction between the CP radical (X2Σ+) and methanimine

Phosphorus is of particular interest in astrochemistry because it is a biogenic element together with hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur. However, the chemical evolution of such element in the interstellar medium (ISM) is still far from an accurate characterization, with the chemistry of P-bearing molecules being poorly understood. To provide a contribution in this direction, we have carried out an accurate investigation of the potential energy surface for the reaction between the CP radical and methanimine (CH₂NH), two species already detected in the ISM. In analogy to similar systems, i.e., CH₂NH + X, with X = OH, CN, and CCH, this reaction can occur-from an energetic point of view-under the harsh conditions of the ISM. Furthermore, since the major products of the aforementioned reaction, namely, E- and Z-2-phosphanylidyneethan-1-imine (HN=CHCP) and N-(phosphaneylidynemethyl)methanimine (H₂C=NCP), have not been spectroscopically characterized yet, some effort has been made for filling this gap by means of accurate computational approaches.

Laboratory measurements and astronomical search for cyanomethanimine

CONTEXT

C-cyanomethanimine (HNCHCN), existing in the two Z and E isomeric forms, is a key prebiotic molecule, but, so far, only the E isomer has been detected toward the massive star-forming region. Sagittarius B2(N) using transitions in the radio wavelength domain.

AIMS

With the aim of detecting HNCHCN in Sun-like-star forming regions, the laboratory investigation of its rotational spectrum has been extended to the millimeter-/submillimeter-wave (mm-/submm-) spectral window in which several unbiased spectral surveys have been already carried out.

METHODS

High-resolution laboratory measurements of the rotational spectrum of C-cyanomethanimine were carried out in the 100-420 GHz range using a frequency-modulation absorption spectrometer. We then searched for the C-cyanomethanimine spectral features in the mm-wave range using the high-sensitivity and unbiased spectral surveys obtained with the IRAM 30-m antenna in the ASAI context, the earliest stages of star formation from starless to evolved Class I objects being sampled.

RESULTS

For both the Z and E isomers, the spectroscopic work has led to an improved and extended knowledge of the spectroscopic parameters, thus providing accurate predictions of the rotational signatures up to ~700 GHz. So far, no C-cyanomethanimine emission has been detected toward the ASAI targets, and upper limits of the column density of ~ 10¹¹-10¹² cm^-2 could only be derived. Consequently, the C-cyanomethanimine abundances have to be less than a few 10^-10 for starless and hot-corinos. A less stringent constraint, ≤ 10^-9, is obtained for shocks sites.

CONCLUSIONS

The combination of the upper limits of the abundances of C-cyanomethanimine together with accurate laboratory frequencies up to ~ 700 GHz poses the basis for future higher sensitivity searches around Sun-like-star forming regions. For compact (typically less than 1″) and chemically enriched sources such as hot-corinos, the use of interferometers as NOEMA and ALMA in their extended configurations are clearly needed.

Theoretical spectroscopic characterization at low temperatures of S-methyl thioformate and O-methyl thioformate

Highly correlated ab initio methods are employed to determine spectroscopic properties at low temperatures of two S-analogs of methyl formate: S-methyl thioformate CH3-S-CHO (MSCHO) and O-methyl thioformate CH3-O-CHS (MOCHS). Both species are detectable and they are expected to play an important role in Astrochemistry. Molecular properties are compared with those of the O-analog, methyl formate. Both isomers present two conformers cis and trans. cis-CH3-S-CHO represents the most stable structure lying 4372.2 cm(-1) below cis-CH3-O-CHS. The energy difference between the cis and trans forms is drastically lower for MSCHO (1134 cm(-1)) than for MOCHS (1963.6 cm(-1)). Harmonic and anharmonic fundamentals and the corresponding intensities, as well as the rotational constants for the ground vibrational and first excited torsional states and the centrifugal distortions constants, are provided. Low torsional energy levels have been obtained by solving variationally a two dimensional Hamiltonian expressed in terms of the two torsional degrees of freedom. The corresponding 2D potential energy surfaces have been computed at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory. The methyl torsional barriers V3(cis) are determined to be 139.7 cm(-1) (CH3-S-CHO) and 670.4 cm(-1) (CH3-O-CHS). The A/E splitting of ground torsional state has been estimated to be 0.438 cm(-1) for CH3-S-CHO and negligible for CH3-O-CHS.

Comparison of the experimental, semi-experimental and ab initio equilibrium structures of acetylene: influence of relativisitic effects and of the diagonal Born-Oppenheimer corrections

The equilibrium structure of acetylene (also named ethyne) has been reinvestigated to resolve the small discrepancies noted between different determinations. The size of the system as well as the large amount of available experimental data provides the quite unique opportunity to check the magnitude and relevance of various contributions to equilibrium structure as well as to verify the accuracy of experimental results. With respect to pure theoretical investigation, quantum-chemical calculations at the coupled-cluster level have been employed together with extrapolation to the basis set limit, consideration of higher excitations in the cluster operator, inclusion of core correlation effects as well as relativistic and diagonal Born-Oppenheimer corrections. In particular, it is found that the extrapolation to the complete basis set limit, the inclusion of higher excitations in the electronic-correlation treatment and the relativistic corrections are of the same order of magnitude. It also appears that a basis set as large as a core-valence quintuple-zeta set is required for accurately accounting for the inner-shell correlation contribution. From a pure experimental point of view, the equilibrium structure has been determined using very accurate rotational constants recently obtained by a "global analysis" (that is to say that all non-negligible interactions are explicitly included in the Hamiltonian matrix) of rovibrational spectra. Finally, a semi-experimental equilibrium structure (where the equilibrium rotational constants are obtained from the experimental ground state rotational constants and computed rovibrational corrections) has been obtained from the available experimental ground-state rotational constants for ten isotopic species corrected for computed vibrational corrections. Such a determination led to the revision of the ground-state rotational constants of two isotopologues, thus showing that structural determination is a good method to identify errors in experimental rotational constants. The three structures are found in a very good agreement, and our recommended values are r(CC) = 120.2958(7) pm and r(CH) = 106.164(1) pm.

Nuclear Quadrupole Tensors for (35)Cl and (37)Cl in cis-1-chloro-2-fluoroethylene Obtained by Detection of Perturbation-Allowed DeltaJ = 2 and DeltaJ = 3 Transitions

The nuclear quadrupole hyperfine structure in rotational transitions of cis-1-chloro-2-fluoroethylene was measured for both (35)Cl and (37)Cl containing isotopomers in the millimeter-wave region. Near degeneracies of the 9(3,7) and 10(2,9) levels of (35)ClHC&dbond;CFH and of the 19(9,10/11) and 17(10,7/8) levels of (37)ClHC&dbond;CFH cause strong perturbations of the hyperfine patterns and give rise to perturbation-allowed DeltaJ = 2 and DeltaJ = 3 transitions. Lamb-dip measurements of such perturbed hyperfine patterns and of forbidden DeltaJ = +2 and perturbation-enhanced DeltaJ = 0 transitions of (35)ClHC&dbond;CFH provided an accurate determination of chi(ab), the off-diagonal element of the inertial nuclear quadrupole tensor. For (37)ClHC&dbond;CFH, chi(ab) was determined for the first time thanks to the observation of perturbed hyperfine patterns and of forbidden DeltaJ = +3 and DeltaJ = -2 transitions. Additional measurements of hyperfine structures led to improved values for the diagonal elements of the chi tensor of both (35)Cl and (37)Cl. Moreover, the complete inertial nuclear quadrupole tensor was evaluated from the field gradient at the chlorine nucleus computed by using the Multi-Configuration Self-Consistent Field (MCSCF) approach and employing basis sets of triple-zeta quality: very good agreement with the experiment was obtained. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.