Piotr S. Żuchowski

Observation of the isotope effect in sub-kelvin reactions

Quantum phenomena in the translational motion of reactants, which are usually negligible at room temperature, can dominate reaction dynamics at low temperatures. In such cold conditions, even the weak centrifugal force is enough to create a potential barrier that keeps reactants separated. However, reactions may still proceed through tunnelling because, at low temperatures, wave-like properties become important. At certain de Broglie wavelengths, the colliding particles can become trapped in long-lived metastable scattering states, leading to sharp increases in the total reaction rate. Here, we show that these metastable states are responsible for a dramatic, order-of-magnitude-strong, quantum kinetic isotope effect by measuring the absolute Penning ionization reaction rates between hydrogen isotopologues and metastable helium down to 0.01 K. We demonstrate that measurements of a single isotope are insufficient to constrain ab initio calculations, making the kinetic isotope effect in the cold regime necessary to remove ambiguity among possible potential energy surfaces.

Symmetry-adapted perturbation theory utilizing density functional description of monomers for high-spin open-shell complexes

We present an implementation of symmetry-adapted perturbation theory (SAPT) to interactions of high-spin open-shell monomers forming high-spin dimers. The monomer spin-orbitals used in the expressions for the electrostatic and exchange contributions to the interaction energy are obtained from density functional theory using a spin-restricted formulation of the open-shell Kohn-Sham (ROKS) method. The dispersion and induction energies are expressed through the density-density response functions predicted by the time-dependent ROKS theory. The method was applied to several systems: NH...He, CN...Ne, H2O...HO2, and NH...NH. It provides accuracy comparable to that of the best previously available methods such as the open-shell coupled-cluster method with single, double, and noniterative triple excitations, RCCSD(T), with a significantly reduced computational cost.

Interaction between LiH molecule and Li atom from state-of-the-art electronic structure calculations.

State-of-the-art ab initio techniques have been applied to compute the potential energy surface for the lithium atom interacting with the lithium hydride molecule in the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. The interaction potential was obtained using a combination of the explicitly correlated unrestricted coupled-cluster method with single, double, and noniterative triple excitations [UCCSD(T)-F12] for the core-core and core-valence correlation and full configuration interaction for the valence-valence correlation. The potential energy surface has a global minimum 8743 cm(-1) deep if the Li-H bond length is held fixed at the monomer equilibrium distance or 8825 cm(-1) deep if it is allowed to vary. In order to evaluate the performance of the conventional CCSD(T) approach, calculations were carried out using correlation-consistent polarized valence X-tuple-zeta basis sets, with X ranging from 2 to 5, and a very large set of bond functions. Using simple two-point extrapolations based on the single-power laws X(-2) and X(-3) for the orbital basis sets, we were able to reproduce the CCSD(T)-F12 results for the characteristic points of the potential with an error of 0.49% at worst. The contribution beyond the CCSD(T)-F12 model, obtained from full configuration interaction calculations for the valence-valence correlation, was shown to be very small, and the error bars on the potential were estimated. At linear LiH-Li geometries, the ground-state potential shows an avoided crossing with an ion-pair potential. The energy difference between the ground-state and excited-state potentials at the avoided crossing is only 94 cm(-1). Using both adiabatic and diabatic pictures, we analyze the interaction between the two potential energy surfaces and its possible impact on the collisional dynamics. When the Li-H bond is allowed to vary, a seam of conical intersections appears at C(2v) geometries. At the linear LiH-Li geometry, the conical intersection is at a Li-H distance which is only slightly larger than the monomer equilibrium distance, but for nonlinear geometries it quickly shifts to Li-H distances that are well outside the classical turning points of the ground-state potential of LiH. This suggests that the conical intersection will have little impact on the dynamics of Li-LiH collisions at ultralow temperatures. Finally, the reaction channels for the exchange and insertion reactions are also analyzed and found to be unimportant for the dynamics.

Large Effects of Electric Fields on Atom-Molecule Collisions at Millikelvin Temperatures

Controlling interactions between cold molecules using external fields can elucidate the role of quantum mechanics in molecular collisions. We create a new experimental platform in which ultracold rubidium atoms and cold ammonia molecules are separately trapped by magnetic and electric fields and then combined to study collisions. We observe inelastic processes that are faster than expected from earlier field-free calculations. We use quantum scattering calculations to show that electric fields can have a major effect on collision outcomes, even in the absence of dipole-dipole interactions.

Prospects for sympathetic cooling of polar molecules: NH with alkali-metal and alkaline-earth atoms – a new hope

We explore the potential energy surfaces for NH molecules interacting with alkali-metal and alkaline-earth atoms using highly correlated ab initio electronic structure calculations. The surfaces for interaction with alkali-metal atoms have deep wells dominated by covalent forces. The resulting strong anisotropies will produce strongly inelastic collisions. The surfaces for interaction with alkaline-earth atoms have shallower wells that are dominated by induction and dispersion forces. For Be and Mg the anisotropy is small compared to the rotational constant of NH, so that collisions will be relatively weakly inelastic. Be and Mg are thus promising coolants for sympathetic cooling of NH to the ultracold regime.

Symmetry-adapted perturbation theory based on unrestricted Kohn-Sham orbitals for high-spin open-shell van der Waals complexes.

Two open-shell formulations of the symmetry-adapted perturbation theory are presented. They are based on the spin-unrestricted Kohn-Sham (SAPT(UKS)) and unrestricted Hartree-Fock (SAPT(UHF)) descriptions of the monomers, respectively. The key reason behind development of SAPT(UKS) is that it is more compatible with density functional theory (DFT) compared to the previous formulation of open-shell SAPT based on spin-restricted Kohn-Sham method of Żuchowski et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 129, 084101 (2008)]. The performance of SAPT(UKS) and SAPT(UHF) is tested for the following open-shell van der Waals complexes: He···NH, H(2)O···HO(2), He···OH, Ar···OH, Ar···NO. The results show an excellent agreement between SAPT(UKS) and SAPT(ROKS). Furthermore, for the first time SAPT based on DFT is shown to be suitable for the treatment of interactions involving Π-state radicals (He···OH, Ar···OH, Ar···NO). In the interactions of transition metal dimers ((3)Σ(u)(+))Au(2) and ((13)Σ(g)(+))Cr(2) we show that SAPT is incompatible with the use of effective core potentials. The interaction energies of both systems expressed instead as supermolecular UHF interaction plus dispersion from SAPT(UKS) result in reasonably accurate potential curves.

Aurophilic Interactions from Wave Function, Symmetry-Adapted Perturbation Theory, and Rangehybrid Approaches.

The aurophilic interaction is examined in three model systems Au2((3)Σg(+)), (AuH)2, and (HAuPH3)2 which contain interactions of pairs of the Au centers in the oxidation state (I). Several methods are employed ranging from wave function theory-based (WFT) approaches to symmetry-adapted perturbation theory (SAPT) and range-separated hybrid (RSH) density functional theory (DFT) methods. The most promising and accurate approach consists of a combination of the DFT and WFT approaches in the RSH framework. In this combination the short-range DFT handles the slow convergence of the correlation cusp, whereas the long-range WFT is best suited for the long-range correlation. Of the three tested RSH DFT methods, the one which uses a short-range exchange functional based on the Ernzerhof-Perdew exchange hole model with a range-separation parameter of 0.4 bohr(-1) seems to be the best candidate for treatment of gold. In combination with the long-range coupled cluster singles, doubles, and noniterative triples [CCSD(T)] treatment it places the strength of aurophilic bonding in (HAuPH3)2 at 5.7 kcal/mol at R = 3.09 Å. This value is somewhat larger than our best purely WFT result based on CCSD(T), 4.95 kcal/mol (R = 3.1 Å), and considerably smaller than the Hartree-Fock+dispersion value of 7.4 kcal/mol (R = 2.9 Å). The 5.7 kcal/mol estimate fits reasonably well within the prediction of the empirical relationship proposed by Schwerdtfeger et al. (J. Am. Chem. Soc.1998, 120, 6587). A direct computation of dispersion energy, including exchange corrections, results in values of ca. -9 kcal/mol for Au2((3)Σg(+)) and (AuH)2 and -13 kcal/mol for (HAuPH3)2 at the distance of a typical aurophilic bond, R = 3.0 Å.

Ab initio potential energy surfaces for NH(Σ3−)–NH(Σ3−) with analytical long range

We present four-dimensional ab initio potential energy surfaces for the three different spin states of the NH((3)Sigma(-))-NH((3)Sigma(-)) complex. The potentials are partially based on the work of Dhont et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 123, 184302 (2005)]. The surface for the quintet state is obtained at the RCCSD(T)/augmented correlation-consistent polarized valence triple-zeta (aug-cc-pVTZ) level of theory and the energy differences with the singlet and triplet states are calculated at the complete active space with nth-order perturbation theory/aug-cc-pVTZ (n=2,3) level of theory. The ab initio potentials are fitted to coupled spherical harmonics in the angular coordinates, and the long range is further expanded as a power series in 1/R. The RCCSD(T) potential is corrected for a size-consistency error of about 0.5x10(-6) E(h) prior to fitting. The long-range coefficients obtained from the fit are found to be in good agreement with first and second-order perturbation theory calculations.

Ab initio potential energy surfaces for NH-NH with analytical long range

We present four-dimensional ab initio potential energy surfaces for the three different spin states of the NH((3)Sigma(-))-NH((3)Sigma(-)) complex. The potentials are partially based on the work of Dhont et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 123, 184302 (2005)]. The surface for the quintet state is obtained at the RCCSD(T)/augmented correlation-consistent polarized valence triple-zeta (aug-cc-pVTZ) level of theory and the energy differences with the singlet and triplet states are calculated at the complete active space with nth-order perturbation theory/aug-cc-pVTZ (n=2,3) level of theory. The ab initio potentials are fitted to coupled spherical harmonics in the angular coordinates, and the long range is further expanded as a power series in 1/R. The RCCSD(T) potential is corrected for a size-consistency error of about 0.5x10(-6) E(h) prior to fitting. The long-range coefficients obtained from the fit are found to be in good agreement with first and second-order perturbation theory calculations.

Low-energy collisions of NH 3 and ND 3 with ultracold Rb atoms

We carry out quantum inelastic scattering calculations of collisions of Rb atoms with inverting NH3 and ND3 molecules in the energy range between 0 and 100 cm−1, which are important for experiments using velocity-controlled molecular beams to probe scattering resonances. We focus on molecules initially in the upper level of the ammonia inversion doublet for j=1, k=1, which is low-field seeking and can be controlled in a Stark decelerator. We calculate the integral elastic and state-to-state inelastic cross sections in the coupled-states approximation. We demonstrate the presence of both shape and Feshbach resonances in the elastic and inelastic cross sections at low collision energies and discuss their origin in terms of the bound states of the Rb-ND3 complex. We also consider elastic and inelastic cross sections in the ultracold regime, using close-coupling calculations, in order to assess the viability of sympathetic cooling of ND3 by Rb. The inelastic cross section for relaxation to the lower level of the inversion doublet is smaller than expected for such a strongly coupled system but is still likely to be too large to allow sympathetic cooling for ND3 in low-field-seeking states. However, there is a good prospect that sympathetic cooling will be possible for molecules in high-field-seeking states even when the collision partner is a magnetically trapped atom in a low-field-seeking state.