Dynamics large amplitude

Experimental probes of Born-Oppenheimer breakdown under conditions where large amplitude vibrational motion can occur are now becoming available. One approach to this problem is to compare theoretical predictions and experimental observations for reactive properties that are sensitive to the Born-Oppenheimer potential energy surface. Particularly useful for this endeavor are recombinative desorption and Eley-Rideal reactions. In both cases, gas-phase reaction products may be probed by modern state-specific detection methods, providing detailed characterization of the product reaction dynamics. Theoretical predictions based on Born-Oppenheimer potential energy surfaces should be capable of reproducing experiment. Observed deviations between experiment and theory may be attributed to Born-Oppenheimer breakdown. 

Analytical approaches applicable for small and large amplitudes (for weak and strong nonlinearity) of the oscillations in a nonlinear dynamic system subjected to the influence of a wave has been developed (Damgov, 2004 Damgov, Trenchev and Sheiretsky, 2003). 

Rotation of the oxygen around the Fe-O bond involves a small energy barrier ( 2 kcal mol ), suggesting that several rotational conformations could be available at room temperature. Indeed, our molecular dynamics simulations show that the 02 ligand undergoes large-amplitude oscillations within one porphyrin quadrant, jumping to another quadrant on the picosecond timescale. The dynamics of the FeCO unit are characterized by rapid mo-... 

Two-dimensional heteronuclear ( H- N) nuclear magnetic relaxation studies indicate that the dihydrofolate reductase-folate complex exhibits a diverse range of backbone fluctuations on the time-scale of picoseconds to nanoseconds To assess whether these dynamical features influence Michaelis complex formation, Miller et al used mutagenesis and kinetic measurements to assess the role of a strictly conserved residue, namely Gly-121, which displays large-amplitude backbone motions on the nanosecond time scale. Deletion of Gly-121 dramatically reduces the hydride transfer rate by 550 times there is also a 20-times decrease in NADPH cofactor binding affinity and a 7-fold decrease for NADP+ relative to wild-type. Insertion mutations significantly decreased both... 

The use of strong fields to drive the dynamics leads to somehow similar effects than those of ultrafast pulses. If the Rabi frequency or energy of the interaction is much larger than the energy spacing between adjacent vibrational states, a wave packet is formed during the laser action. The same laser can prepare and control the dynamics of the wave packet [2]. Both short time widths and large amplitudes can concur in the experiment. However, the precise manipulation of dynamic observables usually becomes more difficult as the duration of the pulses decreases. 

A relaxation process will occur when a compound state of the system with large amplitude of a sparse subsystem component evolves so that the continuum component grows with time. We then say that the dynamic component of this state s wave function decays with time. Familiar examples of such relaxation processes are the a decay of nuclei, the radiative decay of atoms, atomic and molecular autoionization processes, and molecular predissociation. In all these cases a compound state of the physical system decays into a true continuum or into a quasicontinuum, the choice of the description of the dissipative subsystem depending solely on what boundary conditions are applied at large distances from the atom or molecule. The general theory of quantum mechanics leads to the conclusion that there is a set of features common to all compound states of a wide class of systems. For example, the shapes of many resonances are nearly the same, and the rates of decay of many different kinds of metastable states are of the same functional form. 

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