Vibronic couplings

The electronic state function Pa(r, R) depends not only on electron coordinates r but also on the nuclear coordinates R. The subscript a denotes a set of electronic quantum numbers. Because the mass of the electrons is much smaller than the mass of the nuclei, the electron motion follows the motion of the nuclei adiabatically, so it is customary to adopt the Bom-Oppenheimer approximation, as a result of which the state function may be written as a product of electronic and nuclear state functions  

For a fundamental vibrational transition T = Tj, and Tk is one of the representations T(Qk) to which the normal modes belong, so that the vibronic problem reduces to answering the question, does 

Example 10.2-1 Find if any of the symmetry-forbidden transitions in benzene can become vibronically allowed, given that in the benzene molecule there are normal modes ofB2g and E2g symmetry. 

In D6h symmetry the dipole moment operator forms a basis for the representations Aiu Ei . The ground-state electronic state function belongs to A, and 

Since there are normal modes of B2g and E2g symmetry, both the transitions 1 A g 1B1 and 1A, — 1 B2 (which are forbidden by symmetry in a rigid molecule) become allowed through vibronic coupling. These transitions account for the two weaker bands in the benzene spectrum at 2000 and 2600 A. 

3 Energy level diagrams and crystal field spectra 

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Much of chemistry occurs in the condensed phase solution phase ET reactions have been a major focus for theory and experiment for the last 50 years. Experiments, and quantitative theories, have probed how reaction-free energy, solvent polarity, donor-acceptor distance, bridging stmctures, solvent relaxation, and vibronic coupling influence ET kinetics. Important connections have also been drawn between optical charge transfer transitions and thennal ET. 

Wang C, Mohney B K, Williams R, Hupp J T and Walker G C 1998 Solvent control of vibronic coupling upon intervalence charge transfer excitation of (NC)gFeCNRu(NH3)g- as revealed by resonance Raman and near-infrared absorption spectroscopies J. Am. Chem. Soc. 120 5848-9... 

D. The Vibronic-Coupling Model Hamiltonian IV, Non-Adiabatic Molecular Dynamics... 

A further model Hamiltonian that is tailored for the treatment of non-adiabatic systems is the vibronic coupling (VC) model of Koppel et al. [65]. This provides an analytic expression for PES coupled by non-adiabatic effects, which can be fitted to ab initio calculations using only a few data points. As a result, it is a useful tool in the description of photochemical systems. It is also very useful in the development of dynamics methods, as it provides realistic global surfaces that can be used both for exact quantum wavepacket dynamics and more approximate methods. 

To demonstrate the basic ideas of molecular dynamics calculations, we shall first examine its application to adiabatic systems. The theory of vibronic coupling and non-adiabatic effects will then be discussed to define the sorts of processes in which we are interested. The complications added to dynamics calculations by these effects will then be considered. Some details of the mathematical formalism are included in appendices. Finally, examples will be given of direct dynamics studies that show how well the systems of interest can at present be treated. 

Non-adiabatic coupling is also termed vibronic coupling as the resulting breakdown of the adiabatic picture is due to coupling between the nuclear and electi onic motion. A well-known special case of vibronic coupling is the Jahn-Teller effect [14,164-168], in which a symmetrical molecule in a doubly degenerate electronic state will spontaneously distort so as to break the symmetry and remove the degeneracy. 

The majority of photochemistry of course deals with nondegenerate states, and here vibronic coupling effects aie also found. A classic example of non-Jahn-Teller vibronic coupling is found in the photoelection spectrum of butatiiene, formed by ejection of electrons from the electronic eigenfunctions [approximately the molecular orbitals). Bands due to the ground and first... 

A different example of non-adiabatic effects is found in the absorption spectrum of pyrazine [171,172]. In this spectrum, the, Si state is a weak structured band, whereas the S2 state is an intense broad, fairly featureless band. Importantly, the fluorescence lifetime is seen fo dramatically decrease in fhe energy region of the 82 band. There is thus an efficient nonradiative relaxation path from this state, which results in the broad spectrum. Again, this is due to vibronic coupling between the two states [109,173,174]. 

The adiabatic picture is the standard one in quantum chemistry for the reason that, not only is it mathematically well defined, but it is also that used in ab initio calculations, which solve the electronic Hamiltonian at a particular nuclear geometry. To see the effects of vibronic coupling on the potential energy surfaces one must move to what is called a diabatic representation [1,65,180, 181]. 

A B2u- The vibronic coupling model Hamiltonian is set up using the ground-state... 

The vibronic coupling model has been applied to a number of molecular systems, and used to evaluate the behavior of wavepackets over coupled surfaces [191]. Recent examples are the radical cation of allene [192,193], and benzene [194] (for further examples see references cited therein). It has also been used to explain the lack of structure in the S2 band of the pyrazine absoiption spectrum [109,173,174,195], and recently to study the photoisomerization of retina] [196],... 

If the solution of the zero-order Schiodinger equation [i.e., all teiins in (17) except V(r,Ro) are neglected] yields an/-fold degenerate electronic term, the degeneracy may be removed by the vibronic coupling tenns. If F) and T ) are the two degenerate wave functions, then the vibronic coupling constant... 

The cyclopentadienyl radical and the cyclopentadienyl cation are two well-known Jahn-Teller problems The traditional Jahn-Teller heatment starts at the D k symmetry, and looks for the normal modes that reduce the symmetry by first-01 second-order vibronic coupling. A Longuet-Higgins treatment will search for anchors that may be used to form the proper loop. The coordinates relevant to this approach are reaction coordinates. 

Vibronic Coupling in Singlet States of Linear Molecules... 

Introduction of the vibronic coupling (s / 0) causes removal of the above degeneracy and leads to the general vibronic-spin-orbit pattern presented in the central part of Figure 3. Each vibronic level is characterized by a particular K... 

In his classical paper, Renner [7] first explained the physical background of the vibronic coupling in triatomic molecules. He concluded that the splitting of the bending potential curves at small distortions of linearity has to depend on p, being thus mostly pronounced in H electronic state. Renner developed the system of two coupled Schrbdinger equations and solved it for H states in the harmonic approximation by means of the perturbation theory. 

The expressions for the rotational energy levels (i.e., also involving the end-over-end rotations, not considered in the previous works) of linear triatomic molecules in doublet and triplet II electronic states that take into account a spin orbit interaction and a vibronic coupling were derived in two milestone studies by Hougen [72,32]. In them, the isomorfic Hamiltonian was inboduced, which has later been widely used in treating linear molecules (see, e.g., [55]). 

For vei y small vibronic coupling, the quadratic terms in the power series expansion of the electronic Hamiltonian in normal coordinates (see Appendix E) may be considered to be negligible, and hence the potential energy surface has rotational symmetry but shows no separate minima at the bottom of the moat. In this case, the pair of vibronic levels Aj and A2 in < 3 become degenerate by accident, and the D3/, quantum numbers (vi,V2,/2) may be used to label the vibronic levels of the X3 molecule. When the coupling of the... 

As discussed in preceding sections, FI and have nuclear spin 5, which may have drastic consequences on the vibrational spectra of the corresponding trimeric species. In fact, the nuclear spin functions can only have A, (quartet state) and E (doublet) symmetries. Since the total wave function must be antisymmetric, Ai rovibronic states are therefore not allowed. Thus, for 7 = 0, only resonance states of A2 and E symmetries exist, with calculated states of Ai symmetry being purely mathematical states. Similarly, only -symmetric pseudobound states are allowed for 7 = 0. Indeed, even when vibronic coupling is taken into account, only A and E vibronic states have physical significance. Table XVII-XIX summarize the symmetry properties of the wave functions for H3 and its isotopomers. 

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