Chromophore twisting in the excited state of a photoswitchable fluorescent protein captured by time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Coquelle, Nicolas; Sliwa, Michel; Woodhouse, Joyce

Chromophores absorb light in photosensitive proteins and thereby initiate fundamental biological processes such as photosynthesis, vision and biofluorescence. An important goal in their understanding is the provision of detailed structural descriptions of the ultrafast photochemical events that they undergo, in particular of the excited states that connect chemistry to biological function. Here in this paper we report on the structures of two excited states in the reversibly photoswitchable fluorescent protein rsEGFP2. We populated the states through femtosecond illumination of rsEGFP2 in its non-fluorescent off state and observed their build-up (within less than one picosecond) and decay (on the several picosecondmore » timescale). Using an X-ray free-electron laser, we performed picosecond time-resolved crystallography and show that the hydroxybenzylidene imidazolinone chromophore in one of the excited states assumes a near-canonical twisted configuration halfway between the trans and cis isomers. This is in line with excited-state quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics and classical molecular dynamics simulations. Our new understanding of the structure around the twisted chromophore enabled the design of a mutant that displays a twofold increase in its off-to-on photoswitching quantum yield.« less

Exploring Photoinduced Excited State Evolution in Heterobimetallic Ru(II)-Co(III) Complexes.

PubMed

Kuhar, Korina; Fredin, Lisa A; Persson, Petter

2015-06-18

Quantum chemical calculations provide detailed theoretical information concerning key aspects of photoinduced electron and excitation transfer processes in supramolecular donor-acceptor systems, which are particularly relevant to fundamental charge separation in emerging molecular approaches for solar energy conversion. Here we use density functional theory (DFT) calculations to explore the excited state landscape of heterobimetallic Ru-Co systems with varying degrees of interaction between the two metal centers, unbound, weakly bound, and tightly bound systems. The interplay between structural and electronic factors involved in various excited state relaxation processes is examined through full optimizations of multiple charge/spin states of each of the investigated systems. Low-energy relaxed heterobimetallic states of energy transfer and excitation transfer character are characterized in terms of energy, structure, and electronic properties. These findings support the notion of efficient photoinduced charge separation from a Ru(II)-Co(III) ground state, via initial optical excitation of the Ru-center, to low-energy Ru(III)-Co(II) states. The strongly coupled system has significant involvement of the conjugated bridge, qualitatively distinguishing it from the other two weakly coupled systems. Finally, by constructing potential energy surfaces for the three systems where all charge/spin state combinations are projected onto relevant reaction coordinates, excited state decay pathways are explored.

Excited states of protonated DNA/RNA bases.

PubMed

Berdakin, Matias; Féraud, Géraldine; Dedonder-Lardeux, Claude; Jouvet, Christophe; Pino, Gustavo A

2014-06-14

The very fast relaxation of the excited states to the ground state in DNA/RNA bases is a necessary process to ensure the photostability of DNA and its rate is highly sensitive to the tautomeric form of the bases. Protonation of the bases plays a crucial role in many biochemical and mutagenic processes and it can result in alternative tautomeric structures, thus making important the knowledge of the properties of protonated DNA/RNA bases. We report here the photofragmentation spectra of the five protonated DNA/RNA bases. In most of the cases, the spectra exhibit well resolved vibrational structures, with broad bands associated with very short excited state lifetimes. The similarity between the electronic properties, e.g. excitation energy and very short excited state lifetimes for the canonical tautomers of protonated and neutral DNA bases, suggests that the former could also play an important role in the photostability mechanism of DNA.

Vibronic structure and coupling of higher excited electronic states in carotenoids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krawczyk, Stanisław; Luchowski, Rafał

2013-03-01

Absorption spectra of all-trans carotenoids (lycopene, violaxanthin, ζ-carotene) at low temperature exhibit peculiar features in the UV range. The transition to the 11Ag+ state ('cis-band') weakens on cooling, indicating that it is induced by thermal deformations of the conjugated chain. The higher energy band has unique vibrational structure indicating the vibronic coupling of nBu with another electronic state. The electroabsorption spectra point to the electric field-induced mixing of the nBu state with the vibrational continuum of a lower-lying excited state (Fano effect). These observations widen the basis for elucidation of the vibronic coupling effects in the lower excited states.

Pressure dependence of excited-state charge-carrier dynamics in organolead tribromide perovskites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, X. C.; Han, J. H.; Zhao, H. F.; Yan, H. C.; Shi, Y.; Jin, M. X.; Liu, C. L.; Ding, D. J.

2018-05-01

Excited-state charge-carrier dynamics governs the performance of organometal trihalide perovskites (OTPs) and is strongly influenced by the crystal structure. Characterizing the excited-state charge-carrier dynamics in OTPs under high pressure is imperative for providing crucial insights into structure-property relations. Here, we conduct in situ high-pressure femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy experiments to study the excited-state carrier dynamics of CH3NH3PbBr3 (MAPbBr3) under hydrostatic pressure. The results indicate that compression is an effective approach to modulate the carrier dynamics of MAPbBr3. Across each pressure-induced phase, carrier relaxation, phonon scattering, and Auger recombination present different pressure-dependent properties under compression. Responsiveness is attributed to the pressure-induced variation in the lattice structure, which also changes the electronic band structure. Specifically, simultaneous prolongation of carrier relaxation and Auger recombination is achieved in the ambient phase, which is very valuable for excess energy harvesting. Our discussion provides clues for optimizing the photovoltaic performance of OTPs.

The molecular and electronic structure of s-tetrazine in the ground and first excited state: A theoretical investigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schütz, Martin; Hutter, Jürg; Lüthi, Hans Peter

1995-10-01

The ground- and first excited state of s-tetrazine arising from a π*←n excitation (1Ag,1B3u) have been studied using the complete active space (CASSCF) and the second order multiconfiguration perturbation theory (CASPT2) ab initio methods. The focus of this study is on the effect of the electronic excitation on the molecular structure and on those electronic properties which are important to model the solvatochromatic behavior of the molecule in polymer matrices as used in permanent hole burning experiments. Since the accurate computation of excited state molecular properties represents a major challenge for today's numerical quantum chemistry, some technical aspects are also considered. The present study shows that the change in geometry upon electronic excitation is small. This is in partial contradiction with the experimental studies which however disagree among themselves [see K. K. Innes, I. G. Ross, and W. R. Moomaw, J. Mol. Spectrosc. 132, 492 (1988), and R. E. Smalley, L. Wharton, and D. H. Levi, ibid. 66, 375 (1977)]. This study also confirms that the first excited state equilibrium structure is of D2h symmetry. In an earlier theoretical study it was found that the D2h symmetry structure may represent a saddle point rather than a minimum on the excited state potential surface [see A. C. Scheiner and H. F. Schaefer III, J. Chem. Phys. 87, 3539 (1987)]. In the first excited state, we observe an increase of the mean polarizability of s-tetrazine along with an enhanced anisotropy. The change in the polarizability is almost exclusively in the ``in-plane'' components of the tensor; the polarizability in the vertical direction is nearly unchanged. This observation questions recent experimental results reported for this molecule [see S. Heitz, D. Weidnauer, and A. Hese, J. Chem. Phys. 95, 7952 (1991)].

Spectroscopic Diagnosis of Excited-State Aromaticity: Capturing Electronic Structures and Conformations upon Aromaticity Reversal.

PubMed

Oh, Juwon; Sung, Young Mo; Hong, Yongseok; Kim, Dongho

2018-03-06

Aromaticity, the special energetic stability derived from cyclic [4 n + 2]π-conjugated electronic structures, has been the topic of intense interest in chemistry because it plays a critical role in rationalizing molecular stability, reactivity, and physical/chemical properties. Recently, the pioneering work by Colin Baird on aromaticity reversal, postulating that aromatic (antiaromatic) character in the ground state reverses to antiaromatic (aromatic) character in the lowest excited triplet state, has attracted much scientific attention. The completely reversed aromaticity in the excited state provides direct insight into understanding the photophysical/chemical properties of photoactive materials. In turn, the application of aromatic molecules to photoactive materials has led to numerous studies revealing this aromaticity reversal. However, most studies of excited-state aromaticity have been based on the theoretical point of view. The experimental evaluation of aromaticity in the excited state is still challenging and strenuous because the assessment of (anti)aromaticity with conventional magnetic, energetic, and geometric indices is difficult in the excited state, which practically restricts the extension and application of the concept of excited-state aromaticity. Time-resolved optical spectroscopies can provide a new and alternative avenue to evaluate excited-state aromaticity experimentally while observing changes in the molecular features in the excited states. Time-resolved optical spectroscopies take advantage of ultrafast laser pulses to achieve high time resolution, making them suitable for monitoring ultrafast changes in the excited states of molecular systems. This can provide valuable information for understanding the aromaticity reversal. This Account presents recent breakthroughs in the experimental assessment of excited-state aromaticity and the verification of aromaticity reversal with time-resolved optical spectroscopic measurements. To scrutinize this intriguing and challenging scientific issue, expanded porphyrins have been utilized as the ideal testing platform for investigating aromaticity because they show distinct aromatic and antiaromatic characters with aromaticity-specific spectroscopic features. Expanded porphyrins exhibit perfect aromatic and antiaromatic congener pairs having the same molecular framework but different numbers of π electrons, which facilitates the study of the pure effect of aromaticity by comparative analyses. On the basis of the characteristics of expanded porphyrins, time-resolved electronic and vibrational absorption spectroscopies capture the changes in electronic structure and molecular conformations driven by the change in aromaticity and provide clear evidence for aromaticity reversal in the excited states. The approaches described in this Account pave the way for the development of new and alternative experimental indices for the evaluation of excited-state aromaticity, which will enable overarching and fundamental comprehension of the role of (anti)aromaticity in the stability, dynamics, and reactivity in the excited states with possible implications for practical applications.

Synthesis, structure, and excited state kinetics of heteroleptic Cu(i) complexes with a new sterically demanding phenanthroline ligand

DOE PAGES

Kohler, Lars; Hadt, Ryan G.; Hayes, Dugan; ...

2017-09-25

In this paper we describe the synthesis of a new phenanthroline ligand, 2,9-di(2,4,6-tri-isopropyl-phenyl)-1,10-phenanthroline (bL2) and its use as the blocking ligand in the preparation of two new heteroleptic Cu(I)diimine complexes. Analysis of the CuHETPHEN single crystal structures shows a distinct distortion from an ideal tetrahedral geometry around the Cu(I) center, forced by the secondary phenanthroline ligand rotating to accommodate the isopropyl groups of bL2. The increased steric bulk of bL2 as compared to the more commonly used 2,9-dimesityl-1,10-phenanthroline blocking ligand prohibits intramolecular ligand–ligand interaction, which is unique among CuHETPHEN complexes. The ground state optical and redox properties of CuHETPHEN complexesmore » are responsive to the substitution on the blocking ligand even though the differences in structure are far removed from the Cu(I) center. Transient optical spectroscopy was used to understand the excited state kinetics in both coordinating and non-coordinating solvents following visible excitation. Substitution of the blocking phenanthroline ligand has a significant impact on the 3MLCT decay and can be used to increase the excited state lifetime by 50%. Electronic structure calculations established relationships between ground and excited state properties, and general entatic state concepts are discussed for copper photosensitizers. This work contributes to the growing library of CuHETPHEN complexes and broadens the fundamental understanding of their ground and excited state properties.« less

Isobar analog states (IAS), double isobar analog states (DIAS), configuration states (CS), and double configuration states (DCS) in halo nuclei. Halo isomers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Izosimov, I. N.

2015-10-01

It has been shown that IAS, DIAS, CS, and DCS can simultaneously have n-n, n-p, and p-p halo components in their wave functions. Differences in halo structure of the excited and ground states can result in the formation of isomers (halo-isomers). Both the Borromean and tango halo types can be observed for n-p configurations of atomic nuclei. The structure of the ground and excited states with different isospin quantum number in halo like nuclei is discussed. B(Mλ) and B(Eλ) for γ-transitions in 6,7,8Li, 8,9,10Be, 8,10,11B, 10,11,12,13,14C, 13,14,15,16,17N, 15,16,17,19O, and 17F are analyzed. Special attention is given to nuclei whose ground state does not exhibit halo structure but the excited state may have one.

Synthesis, crystal structure and DFT studies of a dual fluorescent ketamine: Structural changes in the ground and excited states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Latha, V.; Balakrishnan, C.; Neelakantan, M. A.

2015-07-01

A fluorescent probe 2Z,2‧Z-3,3‧-(4,4‧-methylenebis(4,1-phenylene) bis(azanediyl))bis (1,3-diphenylprop-2-en-1-one) (L) was synthesized and characterized by IR, 1H NMR, ESI-mass, UV-visible and fluorescence spectral techniques. The single crystal analysis illustrates the existence of L in ketamine form. The crystal structure is stabilized by intramolecular and intermolecular hydrogen bonding. The thermal stability of L was studied by TG analysis. The fluorescence spectrum of L shows dual emission, and is due to excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) process. This is supported by the high Stokes shift value. Electronic structure calculations of L in the ground and excited state have been carried out using DFT and TD-DFT at B3LYP/6-31G (d,p) level, respectively. The vibrational spectrum was computed at this level and compared with experimental values. Major orbital contributions for the electronic transitions were assigned with the help of TD-DFT. The changes in the Mulliken charge, bond lengths and bond angles between the ground and excited states of the tautomers demonstrate that twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) process occurs along with ESIPT in the excited state.

Robust Population Inversion by Polarization Selective Pulsed Excitation

PubMed Central

Mantei, D.; Förstner, J.; Gordon, S.; Leier, Y. A.; Rai, A. K.; Reuter, D.; Wieck, A. D.; Zrenner, A.

2015-01-01

The coherent state preparation and control of single quantum systems is an important prerequisite for the implementation of functional quantum devices. Prominent examples for such systems are semiconductor quantum dots, which exhibit a fine structure split single exciton state and a V-type three level structure, given by a common ground state and two distinguishable and separately excitable transitions. In this work we introduce a novel concept for the preparation of a robust inversion by the sequential excitation in a V-type system via distinguishable paths. PMID:26000910

Laser pulses for coherent xuv Raman excitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greenman, Loren; Koch, Christiane P.; Whaley, K. Birgitta

2015-07-01

We combine multichannel electronic structure theory with quantum optimal control to derive femtosecond-time-scale Raman pulse sequences that coherently populate a valence excited state. For a neon atom, Raman target populations of up to 13% are obtained. Superpositions of the ground and valence Raman states with a controllable relative phase are found to be reachable with up to 4.5% population and arbitrary phase control facilitated by the pump pulse carrier-envelope phase. Analysis of the optimized pulse structure reveals a sequential mechanism in which the valence excitation is reached via a fast (femtosecond) population transfer through an intermediate resonance state in the continuum rather than avoiding intermediate-state population with simultaneous or counterintuitive (stimulated Raman adiabatic passage) pulse sequences. Our results open a route to coupling valence excitations and core-hole excitations in molecules and aggregates that locally address specific atoms and represent an initial step towards realization of multidimensional spectroscopy in the xuv and x-ray regimes.

Molecular structures and excited states of CpM(CO)(2) (Cp = eta(5)-C(5)H(5); M = Rh, Ir) and [Cl(2)Rh(CO)(2)](-). Theoretical evidence for a competitive charge transfer mechanism.

PubMed

Hu, Zhenming; Boyd, Russell J; Nakatsuji, Hiroshi

2002-03-20

Molecular structures and excited states of CpM(CO)(2) (Cp = eta(5)-C(5)H(5); M = Rh, Ir) and [Cl(2)Rh(CO)(2)](-) complexes have been investigated using the B3LYP and the symmetry-adapted cluster (SAC)/SAC-configuration interaction (SAC-CI) theoretical methods. All the dicarbonyl complexes have singlet ground electronic states with large singlet-triplet separations. Thermal dissociations of CO from the parent dicarbonyls are energetically unfavorable. CO thermal dissociation is an activation process for [Cl(2)Rh(CO)(2)](-) while it is a repulsive potential for CpM(CO)(2). The natures of the main excited states of CpM(CO)(2) and [Cl(2)Rh(CO)(2)](-) are found to be quite different. For [Cl(2)Rh(CO)(2)](-), all the strong transitions are identified to be metal to ligand CO charge transfer (MLCT) excitations. A significant feature of the excited states of CpM(CO)(2) is that both MLCT excitation and a ligand Cp to metal and CO charge transfer excitation are strongly mixed in the higher energy states with the latter having the largest oscillator strength. A competitive charge transfer excited state has therefore been identified theoretically for CpRh(CO)(2) and CpIr(CO)(2). The wavelength dependence of the quantum efficiencies for the photoreactions of CpM(CO)(2) reported by Lees et al. can be explained by the existence of two different types of excited states. The origin of the low quantum efficiencies for the C-H/S-H bond activations of CpM(CO)(2) can be attributed to the smaller proportion of the MLCT excitation in the higher energy states.

Ultrafast excited-state dynamics of RNA and DNA C tracts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, Boiko; Larson, Matthew H.; Kohler, Bern

2008-06-01

The excited-state dynamics of the RNA homopolymer of cytosine and of the 18-mer (dC) 18 were studied by steady-state and time-resolved absorption and emission spectroscopy. At pH 6.8, excitation of poly(rC) by a femtosecond UV pump pulse produces excited states that decay up to one order of magnitude more slowly than the excited states formed in the mononucleotide cytidine 5'-monophosphate under the same conditions. Even slower relaxation is observed for the hemiprotonated, self-associated form of poly(rC), which is stable at acidic pH. Transient absorption and time-resolved fluorescence signals for (dC) 18 at pH 6.8 are similar to ones observed for poly(rC) near pH 4, indicating that hemiprotonated structures are found in DNA C tracts at neutral pH. In both systems, there is evidence for two kinds of emitting states with lifetimes of ˜100 ps and slightly more than 1 ns. The former states are responsible for the bulk of emission from the hemiprotonated structures. Evidence suggests that slow electronic relaxation in these self-complexes is the result of vertical base stacking. The similar signals from RNA and DNA C tracts suggest a common base-stacked structure, which may be identical with that of i-motif DNA.

Photoisomerization and photodissociation dynamics of reactive free radicals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bise, Ryan T.

2000-08-01

The photofragmentation pathways of chemically reactive free radicals have been examined using the technique of fast beam photofragment translational spectroscopy. Measurements of the photodissociation cross-sections, product branching ratios, product state energy distributions, and angular distributions provide insight into the excited state potential energy surfaces and nonadiabatic processes involved in the dissociation mechanisms. Photodissociation spectroscopy and dynamics of the predissociativemore » $$\\tilde{A}$$ 2A 1 and $$\\tilde{B}$$ 2A 2 states of CH 3S have been investigated. At all photon energies, CH 3 + S( 3P j), was the main reaction channel. The translational energy distributions reveal resolved structure corresponding to vibrational excitation of the CH 3 umbrella mode and the S( 3P j) fine-structure distribution from which the nature of the coupled repulsive surfaces is inferred. Dissociation rates are deduced from the photofragment angular distributions, which depend intimately on the degree of vibrational excitation in the C-S stretch. Nitrogen combustion radicals, NCN, CNN and HNCN have also been studied. For all three radicals, the elimination of molecular nitrogen is the primary reaction channel. Excitation to linear excited triplet and singlet electronic states of the NCN radical generates resolved vibrational structure of the N 2 photofragment. The relatively low fragment rotational excitation suggests dissociation via a symmetric C 2V transition state. Resolved vibrational structure of the N 2 photofragment is also observed in the photodissociation of the HNCN radical. The fragment vibrational and rotational distributions broaden with increased excitation energy. Simple dissociation models suggest that the HNCN radical isomerizes to a cyclic intermediate (c-HCNN) which then dissociates via a tight cyclic transition state. In contrast to the radicals mentioned above, resolved vibrational structure was not observed for the ICNN radical due to extensive fragment rotational excitation, suggesting that intermediate bent states are strongly coupled along the dissociation pathway. The measurements performed in this Thesis have additionally refined the heats of formation and bond dissociation energies of these radicals and have unambiguously confirmed and added to the known electronic spectroscopy.« less

Intramolecular charge transfer and trans-cis isomerization of the DCM styrene dye in polar solvents. A CS INDO MRCI study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marguet, S.; Mialocq, J. C.; Millie, P.; Berthier, G.; Momicchioli, F.

1992-03-01

The solvent-induced changes of trans-cis isomerization efficiency and electronic structure of the excited state of the DCM dye have been considered by means of CS INDO MRCI calculations. The potential energy curves, dipole moments and atomic charge densities as a function of two internal coordinates, namely the rotation angle about the central "double" bond and the twisting of the dimethylamino group, have been obtained for the ground state and the lowest excited states. The structural requirements for the existence of ICT (intramolecular charge transfer) excited states have been investigated by considering internal rotations about three single bonds. The reliability of the potential surfaces and of the solvation models has been discussed with reference to test-calculations on the DMABN molecule. In the first excited singlet state of DCM, the low-energy barrier for the trans-cis isomerization has been found unaffected by the solvent polarity. The only singlet excited state presenting a large ICT character has been found to be the S 2 state for a perpendicularly twisted conformation of the dimethylamino group (TICT state). The assumption of a deactivation of the trans-isomer in the locally excited state through the TICT funnel has been largely discussed with reference to the simplifications of the present theoretical approach.

A theoretical and experimental benchmark study of core-excited states in nitrogen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Myhre, Rolf H.; Wolf, Thomas J. A.; Cheng, Lan; Nandi, Saikat; Coriani, Sonia; Gühr, Markus; Koch, Henrik

2018-02-01

The high resolution near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectrum of nitrogen displays the vibrational structure of the core-excited states. This makes nitrogen well suited for assessing the accuracy of different electronic structure methods for core excitations. We report high resolution experimental measurements performed at the SOLEIL synchrotron facility. These are compared with theoretical spectra calculated using coupled cluster theory and algebraic diagrammatic construction theory. The coupled cluster singles and doubles with perturbative triples model known as CC3 is shown to accurately reproduce the experimental excitation energies as well as the spacing of the vibrational transitions. The computational results are also shown to be systematically improved within the coupled cluster hierarchy, with the coupled cluster singles, doubles, triples, and quadruples method faithfully reproducing the experimental vibrational structure.

The molecular mechanism of excitation in visual transduction and bacteriorhodopsin

PubMed Central

Lewis, Aaron

1978-01-01

An electronic theory of excitation is proposed and described in terms of a three-dimensional excited/ground-state energy surface which elucidates the photochemical and excited-state dynamics of rhodopsins. In this theory the primary action of light is to produce significant electron redistribution in the retinal, thereby generating new interactions that vibrationally excite and perturb the ground-state protein conformation. Thus, light energy causes charge redistribution in the retinal and induces transient charge-density assisted bond rearrangements (such as proton translocation) in the protein structure which is stabilized by subsequent retinal structural alteration. In this theory the isoprenoid chain of the retinal is considered a structurally pliable molecular entity that can generate charge redistributions and can be subsequently achieve intermediate conformations or various isomeric states to minimize the energy of the new protein structure generated by light. Thus, the 11-cis to all trans isomerization of the retinylidene chromophore is not considered a primary mechanism of excitation. An alternate biological role for this molecular process (which is eventually completed in all photoreceptors but not in bacterial rhodopsins) is to provide the irreversibility needed for effective quantum detection on the time scale of a neural response. Finally, it will be demonstrated that this mechanism, which readily accounts for the photophysical and photochemical data, can also be restated in terms of the Monod, Wyman, and Changeux terminology suggesting that aggregates of these pigments may function allosterically. PMID:273216

Near-Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure within Multilevel Coupled Cluster Theory.

PubMed

Myhre, Rolf H; Coriani, Sonia; Koch, Henrik

2016-06-14

Core excited states are challenging to calculate, mainly because they are embedded in a manifold of high-energy valence-excited states. However, their locality makes their determination ideal for local correlation methods. In this paper, we demonstrate the performance of multilevel coupled cluster theory in computing core spectra both within the core-valence separated and the asymmetric Lanczos implementations of coupled cluster linear response theory. We also propose a visualization tool to analyze the excitations using the difference between the ground-state and excited-state electron densities.

An Ab Initio Exciton Model Including Charge-Transfer Excited States.

PubMed

Li, Xin; Parrish, Robert M; Liu, Fang; Kokkila Schumacher, Sara I L; Martínez, Todd J

2017-08-08

The Frenkel exciton model is a useful tool for theoretical studies of multichromophore systems. We recently showed that the exciton model could be used to coarse-grain electronic structure in multichromophoric systems, focusing on singly excited exciton states [ Acc. Chem. Res. 2014 , 47 , 2857 - 2866 ]. However, our previous implementation excluded charge-transfer excited states, which can play an important role in light-harvesting systems and near-infrared optoelectronic materials. Recent studies have also emphasized the significance of charge-transfer in singlet fission, which mediates the coupling between the locally excited states and the multiexcitonic states. In this work, we report on an ab initio exciton model that incorporates charge-transfer excited states and demonstrate that the model provides correct charge-transfer excitation energies and asymptotic behavior. Comparison with TDDFT and EOM-CC2 calculations shows that our exciton model is robust with respect to system size, screening parameter, and different density functionals. Inclusion of charge-transfer excited states makes the exciton model more useful for studies of singly excited states and provides a starting point for future construction of a model that also includes double-exciton states.

Shining light on the antenna chromophore in lanthanide based dyes.

PubMed

Junker, Anne Kathrine R; Hill, Leila R; Thompson, Amber L; Faulkner, Stephen; Sørensen, Thomas Just

2018-04-03

Lanthanide based dyes and assays exploit the antenna effect, where a sensitiser-chromophore is used as a light harvesting antenna and subsequent excited state energy transfer populates the emitting lanthanide centred excited state. A rudimentary understanding of the design criteria for designing efficient dyes and assays based on the antenna effect is in place. By preparing kinetically inert lanthanide complexes based on the DO3A scaffold, we are able to study the excited state energy transfer from a 7-methoxy-coumarin antenna chromophore to europium(iii) and terbium(iii) centred excited states. By contrasting the photophysical properties of complexes of metal centres with and without accessible excited states, we are able to separate the contributions from the heavy atom effect, photoinduced electron transfer quenching, excited state energy transfer and molecular conformations. Furthermore, by studying the photophysical properties of the antenna chromophore, we can directly monitor the solution structure and are able to conclude that excited state energy transfer from the chromophore singlet state to the lanthanide centre does occur.

Structure of the Nucleon and its Excitations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamleh, Waseem; Leinweber, Derek; Liu, Zhan-wei; Stokes, Finn; Thomas, Anthony; Thomas, Samuel; Wu, Jia-jun

2018-03-01

The structure of the ground state nucleon and its finite-volume excitations are examined from three different perspectives. Using new techniques to extract the relativistic components of the nucleon wave function, the node structure of both the upper and lower components of the nucleon wave function are illustrated. A non-trivial role for gluonic components is manifest. In the second approach, the parity-expanded variational analysis (PEVA) technique is utilised to isolate states at finite momenta, enabling a novel examination of the electric and magnetic form factors of nucleon excitations. Here the magnetic form factors of low-lying odd-parity nucleons are particularly interesting. Finally, the structure of the nucleon spectrum is examined in a Hamiltonian effective field theory analysis incorporating recent lattice-QCD determinations of low-lying two-particle scattering-state energies in the finite volume. The Roper resonance of Nature is observed to originate from multi-particle coupled-channel interactions while the first radial excitation of the nucleon sits much higher at approximately 1.9 GeV.

{ital L}=1 Excitation in the Halo Nucleus {sup 11}Li

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Korsheninnikov, A.; Fukuda, S.; Ito, S.

Collisions of {sup 11}Li+p at 68AMeV have been studied by correlational measurements. An excited state of {sup 11}Li at E{sup {asterisk}}{approx_equal}1.3MeV was observed. The measured angular distributions show the dipole nature of the excitation of the 1.3-MeV peak. The structure of the excited states and the ground state of {sup 11}Li is discussed. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}

Structure Effect of Squarylium Cyanine Dyes on Third-Order Optical Nonlinearities in Ground and Excited States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xu-chun; Xu, Gang; Si, Jin-hai; Ye, Pei-xian; Lin, Tong; Peng, Bi-xian

1999-08-01

A series of squarylium cyanine dyes with different substituents were synthesized and the third-order optical nonlinearities of their ground and excited states were investigated by backward degenerate four-wave-mixing. For the ground state, the molecular hyperpolarizability γg increases with the red-shift of the absorption peak λmaxab of the squaraine with different substituents, whereas for the excited-state molecular hyperpolarizability γe, the nonlinear enhancement γe/γg decreases, which may indicate that in the excited state the electron accepting-donating ability of different substituents changes in the reverse order compared with the order in the ground state.

Isobar analog states (IAS), double isobar analog states (DIAS), configuration states (CS), and double configuration states (DCS) in halo nuclei. Halo isomers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Izosimov, I. N., E-mail: izosimov@jinr.ru

2015-10-15

It has been shown that IAS, DIAS, CS, and DCS can simultaneously have n-n, n-p, and p-p halo components in their wave functions. Differences in halo structure of the excited and ground states can result in the formation of isomers (halo-isomers). Both the Borromean and tango halo types can be observed for n-p configurations of atomic nuclei. The structure of the ground and excited states with different isospin quantum number in halo like nuclei is discussed. B(Mλ) and B(Eλ) for γ-transitions in {sup 6,7,8}Li, {sup 8,9,10}Be, {sup 8,10,11}B, {sup 10,11,12,13,14}C, {sup 13,14,15,16,17}N, {sup 15,16,17,19}O, and {sup 17}F are analyzed. Specialmore » attention is given to nuclei whose ground state does not exhibit halo structure but the excited state may have one.« less

The excited spin-triplet state of a charged exciton in quantum dots.

PubMed

Molas, M R; Nicolet, A A L; Piętka, B; Babiński, A; Potemski, M

2016-09-14

We report on spectroscopic studies of resonances related to ladder of states of a charged exciton in single GaAlAs/AlAs quantum dot structures. Polarization-resolved photoluminescence, photoluminescence excitation and photon-correlation measurements were performed at low (T  =  4.2 K) temperature also in magnetic field applied in Faraday configuration. The investigated resonances are assigned to three different configurations of a positively charged exciton. Together with a singlet ground state and a conventional triplet state (involving an electron from the ground state electronic s-shell), an excited triplet state, which involved an electron from the excited electronic p-shell was identified in single dots. The appearance of an emission line related to the latter complex is due to a partially suppressed electron relaxation in the investigated dots. An analysis of this emission line allows us to scrupulously determine properties of the excited triplet state and compare them with those of the conventional triplet state. Both triplets exhibit similar patterns of anisotropic fine structure and Zeeman splitting, however their amplitudes significantly differ for those two states. Presented results emphasize the role of the symmetry of the electronic state on the properties of the triplet states of two holes  +  electron excitonic complex.

An Ab Initio Exciton Model Including Charge-Transfer Excited States

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Xin; Parrish, Robert M.; Liu, Fang

Here, the Frenkel exciton model is a useful tool for theoretical studies of multichromophore systems. We recently showed that the exciton model could be used to coarse-grain electronic structure in multichromophoric systems, focusing on singly excited exciton states. However, our previous implementation excluded charge-transfer excited states, which can play an important role in light-harvesting systems and near-infrared optoelectronic materials. Recent studies have also emphasized the significance of charge-transfer in singlet fission, which mediates the coupling between the locally excited states and the multiexcitonic states. In this work, we report on an ab initio exciton model that incorporates charge-transfer excited statesmore » and demonstrate that the model provides correct charge-transfer excitation energies and asymptotic behavior. Comparison with TDDFT and EOM-CC2 calculations shows that our exciton model is robust with respect to system size, screening parameter, and different density functionals. Inclusion of charge-transfer excited states makes the exciton model more useful for studies of singly excited states and provides a starting point for future construction of a model that also includes double-exciton states.« less

An Ab Initio Exciton Model Including Charge-Transfer Excited States

DOE PAGES

Li, Xin; Parrish, Robert M.; Liu, Fang; ...

2017-06-15

Here, the Frenkel exciton model is a useful tool for theoretical studies of multichromophore systems. We recently showed that the exciton model could be used to coarse-grain electronic structure in multichromophoric systems, focusing on singly excited exciton states. However, our previous implementation excluded charge-transfer excited states, which can play an important role in light-harvesting systems and near-infrared optoelectronic materials. Recent studies have also emphasized the significance of charge-transfer in singlet fission, which mediates the coupling between the locally excited states and the multiexcitonic states. In this work, we report on an ab initio exciton model that incorporates charge-transfer excited statesmore » and demonstrate that the model provides correct charge-transfer excitation energies and asymptotic behavior. Comparison with TDDFT and EOM-CC2 calculations shows that our exciton model is robust with respect to system size, screening parameter, and different density functionals. Inclusion of charge-transfer excited states makes the exciton model more useful for studies of singly excited states and provides a starting point for future construction of a model that also includes double-exciton states.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu Kun; Zhao Hongmei; Wang Caixia

Bromoiodomethane photodissociation in the low-lying excited states has been characterized using unrestricted Hartree-Fock, configuration-interaction-singles, and complete active space self-consistent field calculations with the SDB-aug-cc-pVTZ, aug-cc-pVTZ, and 3-21g** basis sets. According to the results of the vertical excited energies and oscillator strengths of these low-lying excited states, bond selectivity is predicted. Subsequently, the minimum energy paths of the first excited singlet state and the third excited state for the dissociation reactions were calculated using the complete active space self-consistent field method with 3-21g** basis set. Good agreement is found between the calculations and experimental data. The relationships of excitations, the electronicmore » structures at Franck-Condon points, and bond selectivity are discussed.« less

A theoretical and experimental benchmark study of core-excited states in nitrogen

DOE PAGES

Myhre, Rolf H.; Wolf, Thomas J. A.; Cheng, Lan; ...

2018-02-14

The high resolution near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectrum of nitrogen displays the vibrational structure of the core-excited states. This makes nitrogen well suited for assessing the accuracy of different electronic structure methods for core excitations. We report high resolution experimental measurements performed at the SOLEIL synchrotron facility. These are compared with theoretical spectra calculated using coupled cluster theory and algebraic diagrammatic construction theory. The coupled cluster singles and doubles with perturbative triples model known as CC3 is shown to accurately reproduce the experimental excitation energies as well as the spacing of the vibrational transitions. In conclusion, the computationalmore » results are also shown to be systematically improved within the coupled cluster hierarchy, with the coupled cluster singles, doubles, triples, and quadruples method faithfully reproducing the experimental vibrational structure.« less

A theoretical and experimental benchmark study of core-excited states in nitrogen

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Myhre, Rolf H.; Wolf, Thomas J. A.; Cheng, Lan

The high resolution near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectrum of nitrogen displays the vibrational structure of the core-excited states. This makes nitrogen well suited for assessing the accuracy of different electronic structure methods for core excitations. We report high resolution experimental measurements performed at the SOLEIL synchrotron facility. These are compared with theoretical spectra calculated using coupled cluster theory and algebraic diagrammatic construction theory. The coupled cluster singles and doubles with perturbative triples model known as CC3 is shown to accurately reproduce the experimental excitation energies as well as the spacing of the vibrational transitions. In conclusion, the computationalmore » results are also shown to be systematically improved within the coupled cluster hierarchy, with the coupled cluster singles, doubles, triples, and quadruples method faithfully reproducing the experimental vibrational structure.« less

Half-collision analysis of far-wing diffuse structure in Cs-Xe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Exton, R. J.; Hillard, M. E.; Lempert, W. R.

1987-01-01

Laser excitation in the far red wing of the second principal series doublet of Cs mixed with Xe revealed a diffuse structure associated with the 2P(3/2) component. The structure is thought to originate from a reflection type of spectrum between the weakly bound E 2Sigma(1/2) excited state and the X 2Sigma(1/2) repulsive ground state of CsXe.

Temperature dependence of the hydrated electron's excited-state relaxation. I. Simulation predictions of resonance Raman and pump-probe transient absorption spectra of cavity and non-cavity models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zho, Chen-Chen; Farr, Erik P.; Glover, William J.; Schwartz, Benjamin J.

2017-08-01

We use one-electron non-adiabatic mixed quantum/classical simulations to explore the temperature dependence of both the ground-state structure and the excited-state relaxation dynamics of the hydrated electron. We compare the results for both the traditional cavity picture and a more recent non-cavity model of the hydrated electron and make definite predictions for distinguishing between the different possible structural models in future experiments. We find that the traditional cavity model shows no temperature-dependent change in structure at constant density, leading to a predicted resonance Raman spectrum that is essentially temperature-independent. In contrast, the non-cavity model predicts a blue-shift in the hydrated electron's resonance Raman O-H stretch with increasing temperature. The lack of a temperature-dependent ground-state structural change of the cavity model also leads to a prediction of little change with temperature of both the excited-state lifetime and hot ground-state cooling time of the hydrated electron following photoexcitation. This is in sharp contrast to the predictions of the non-cavity model, where both the excited-state lifetime and hot ground-state cooling time are expected to decrease significantly with increasing temperature. These simulation-based predictions should be directly testable by the results of future time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy experiments. Finally, the temperature-dependent differences in predicted excited-state lifetime and hot ground-state cooling time of the two models also lead to different predicted pump-probe transient absorption spectroscopy of the hydrated electron as a function of temperature. We perform such experiments and describe them in Paper II [E. P. Farr et al., J. Chem. Phys. 147, 074504 (2017)], and find changes in the excited-state lifetime and hot ground-state cooling time with temperature that match well with the predictions of the non-cavity model. In particular, the experiments reveal stimulated emission from the excited state with an amplitude and lifetime that decreases with increasing temperature, a result in contrast to the lack of stimulated emission predicted by the cavity model but in good agreement with the non-cavity model. Overall, until ab initio calculations describing the non-adiabatic excited-state dynamics of an excess electron with hundreds of water molecules at a variety of temperatures become computationally feasible, the simulations presented here provide a definitive route for connecting the predictions of cavity and non-cavity models of the hydrated electron with future experiments.

New Theoretical Developments in Exploring Electronically Excited States: Including Localized Configuration Interaction Singles and Application to Large Helium Clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Closser, Kristina Danielle

This thesis presents new developments in excited state electronic structure theory. Contrasted with the ground state, the electronically excited states of atoms and molecules often are unstable and have short lifetimes, exhibit a greater diversity of character and are generally less well understood. The very unusual excited states of helium clusters motivated much of this work. These clusters consist of large numbers of atoms (experimentally 103--109 atoms) and bands of nearly degenerate excited states. For an isolated atom the lowest energy excitation energies are from 1s → 2s and 1s → 2 p transitions, and in clusters describing the lowest energy band minimally requires four states per atom. In the ground state the clusters are weakly bound by van der Waals interactions, however in the excited state they can form well-defined covalent bonds. The computational cost of quantum chemical calculations rapidly becomes prohibitive as the size of the systems increase. Standard excited-state methods such as configuration interaction singles (CIS) and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) can be used with ≈100 atoms, and are optimized to treat only a few states. Thus, one of our primary aims is to develop a method which can treat these large systems with large numbers of nearly degenerate excited states. Additionally, excited states are generally formed far from their equilibrium structures. Vertical excitations from the ground state induce dynamics in the excited states. Thus, another focus of this work is to explore the results of these forces and the fate of the excited states. Very little was known about helium cluster excited states when this work began, thus we first investigated the excitations in small helium clusters consisting of 7 or 25 atoms using CIS. The character of these excited states was determined using attachment/detachment density analysis and we found that in the n = 2 manifold the excitations could generally be interpreted as superpositions of atomic states with surface states appearing close to the atomic excitation energies and interior states being blue shifted by up to ≈2 eV. The dynamics resulting from excitation of He_7 were subsequently explored using ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD). These simulations were performed with classical adiabatic dynamics coupled to a new state-following algorithm on CIS potential energy surfaces. Most clusters were found to completely dissociate and resulted in a single excited atomic state (90%), however, some trajectories formed bound, He*2 (3%), and a few yielded excited trimers (<0.5%). Comparisons were made with available experimental information on much larger clusters. Various applications of this state following algorithm are also presented. In addition to AIMD, these include excited-state geometry optimization and minimal energy path finding via the growing string method. When using state following we demonstrate that more physical results can be obtained with AIMD calculations. Also, the optimized geometries of three excited states of cytosine, two of which were not found without state following, and the minimal energy path between the lowest two singlet excited states of protonated formaldimine are offered as example applications. Finally, to address large clusters, a local variation of CIS was developed. This method exploits the properties of absolutely localized molecular orbitals (ALMOs) to limit the total number of excitations to scaling only linearly with cluster size, which results in formal scaling with the third power of the system size. The derivation of the equations and design of the algorithm are discussed in detail, and computational timings as well as a pilot application to the size dependence of the helium cluster spectrum are presented.

Evolution of Excited-State Dynamics in Periodic Au 28, Au 36, Au 44, and Au 52 Nanoclusters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhou, Meng; Zeng, Chenjie; Sfeir, Matthew Y.

An understanding of the correlation between the atomic structure and optical properties of gold nanoclusters is essential for exploration of their functionalities and applications involving light harvesting and electron transfer. We report the femto-nanosecond excited state dynamics of a periodic series of face-centered cubic (FCC) gold nanoclusters (including Au 28, Au 36, Au 44, and Au 52), which exhibit a set of unique features compared with other similar sized clusters. Molecular-like ultrafast S n → S 1 internal conversions (i.e., radiationless electronic transitions) are observed in the relaxation dynamics of FCC periodic series. Excited-state dynamics with near-HOMO–LUMO gap excitation lacksmore » ultrafast decay component, and only the structural relaxation dominates in the dynamical process, which proves the absence of core–shell relaxation. Interestingly, both the relaxation of the hot carriers and the band-edge carrier recombination become slower as the size increases. The evolution in excited-state properties of this FCC series offers new insight into the structure-dependent properties of metal nanoclusters, which will benefit their optical energy harvesting and photocatalytic applications.« less

Evolution of Excited-State Dynamics in Periodic Au 28, Au 36, Au 44, and Au 52 Nanoclusters

DOE PAGES

Zhou, Meng; Zeng, Chenjie; Sfeir, Matthew Y.; ...

2017-08-10

An understanding of the correlation between the atomic structure and optical properties of gold nanoclusters is essential for exploration of their functionalities and applications involving light harvesting and electron transfer. We report the femto-nanosecond excited state dynamics of a periodic series of face-centered cubic (FCC) gold nanoclusters (including Au 28, Au 36, Au 44, and Au 52), which exhibit a set of unique features compared with other similar sized clusters. Molecular-like ultrafast S n → S 1 internal conversions (i.e., radiationless electronic transitions) are observed in the relaxation dynamics of FCC periodic series. Excited-state dynamics with near-HOMO–LUMO gap excitation lacksmore » ultrafast decay component, and only the structural relaxation dominates in the dynamical process, which proves the absence of core–shell relaxation. Interestingly, both the relaxation of the hot carriers and the band-edge carrier recombination become slower as the size increases. The evolution in excited-state properties of this FCC series offers new insight into the structure-dependent properties of metal nanoclusters, which will benefit their optical energy harvesting and photocatalytic applications.« less

Ultraviolet laser spectroscopy of jet-cooled CaNC and SrNC free radicals: Observation of bent excited electronic states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greetham, Gregory M.; Ellis, Andrew M.

2000-11-01

New electronic transitions of the CaNC and SrNC free radicals have been identified in the near ultraviolet. For CaNC one new system, labeled the D˜-X˜ transition, was observed in the 31 500-33 400 cm-1 region. Two new transitions were found for SrNC, the D˜-X˜ and Ẽ-X˜ systems spanning 29 100-31 000 and 32 750-34 000 cm-1, respectively. Jet-cooled laser excitation spectra yield complex vibrational structure, much of which is attributed to excitation of the bending vibration. This has been used to infer that the molecule adopts a nonlinear equilibrium geometry in the upper electronic state in all three band systems, in contrast to the linear ground electronic state. This structural change is accounted for by the increased diffuseness of the unpaired electron in the excited states, which favors deviation from linearity. All three new excited states are assigned 2A' symmetry and correlate with 2Σ+ states in the linear molecule limit. Tentative estimates for the barriers to linearity in the D˜ 2A' states of CaNC and SrNC have been determined as ˜700 and ˜1050 cm-1, respectively.

Anti-Stokes resonant x-ray Raman scattering for atom specific and excited state selective dynamics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kunnus, Kristjan; Josefsson, Ida; Rajkovic, Ivan

Here, ultrafast electronic and structural dynamics of matter govern rate and selectivity of chemical reactions, as well as phase transitions and efficient switching in functional materials. Since x-rays determine electronic and structural properties with elemental, chemical, orbital and magnetic selectivity, short pulse x-ray sources have become central enablers of ultrafast science. Despite of these strengths, ultrafast x-rays have been poor at picking up excited state moieties from the unexcited ones. With time-resolved anti-Stokes resonant x-ray Raman scattering (AS-RXRS) performed at the LCLS, and ab initio theory we establish background free excited state selectivity in addition to the elemental, chemical, orbitalmore » and magnetic selectivity of x-rays. This unparalleled selectivity extracts low concentration excited state species along the pathway of photo induced ligand exchange of Fe(CO)5 in ethanol. Conceptually a full theoretical treatment of all accessible insights to excited state dynamics with AS-RXRS with transform-limited x-ray pulses is given—which will be covered experimentally by upcoming transform-limited x-ray sources.« less

Anti-Stokes resonant x-ray Raman scattering for atom specific and excited state selective dynamics

DOE PAGES

Kunnus, Kristjan; Josefsson, Ida; Rajkovic, Ivan; ...

2016-10-07

Here, ultrafast electronic and structural dynamics of matter govern rate and selectivity of chemical reactions, as well as phase transitions and efficient switching in functional materials. Since x-rays determine electronic and structural properties with elemental, chemical, orbital and magnetic selectivity, short pulse x-ray sources have become central enablers of ultrafast science. Despite of these strengths, ultrafast x-rays have been poor at picking up excited state moieties from the unexcited ones. With time-resolved anti-Stokes resonant x-ray Raman scattering (AS-RXRS) performed at the LCLS, and ab initio theory we establish background free excited state selectivity in addition to the elemental, chemical, orbitalmore » and magnetic selectivity of x-rays. This unparalleled selectivity extracts low concentration excited state species along the pathway of photo induced ligand exchange of Fe(CO)5 in ethanol. Conceptually a full theoretical treatment of all accessible insights to excited state dynamics with AS-RXRS with transform-limited x-ray pulses is given—which will be covered experimentally by upcoming transform-limited x-ray sources.« less

Timescales of Coherent Dynamics in the Light Harvesting Complex 2 (LH2) of Rhodobacter sphaeroides.

PubMed

Fidler, Andrew F; Singh, Ved P; Long, Phillip D; Dahlberg, Peter D; Engel, Gregory S

2013-05-02

The initial dynamics of energy transfer in the light harvesting complex 2 from Rhodobacter sphaeroides were investigated with polarization controlled two-dimensional spectroscopy. This method allows only the coherent electronic motions to be observed revealing the timescale of dephasing among the excited states. We observe persistent coherence among all states and assign ensemble dephasing rates for the various coherences. A simple model is utilized to connect the spectroscopic transitions to the molecular structure, allowing us to distinguish coherences between the two rings of chromophores and coherences within the rings. We also compare dephasing rates between excited states to dephasing rates between the ground and excited states, revealing that the coherences between excited states dephase on a slower timescale than coherences between the ground and excited states.

Theoretical Study of Tautomerization Reactions for the Ground and First Excited Electronic States of Adenine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Salter, Latasha M.; Chaban, Galina M.; Kwak, Dochan (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Geometrical structures and energetic properties for different tautomers of adenine are calculated in this study, using multi-configurational wave functions. Both the ground and the lowest singlet excited state potential energy surfaces are studied. Four tautomeric forms are considered, and their energetic order is found to be different on the ground and the excited state potential energy surfaces. Minimum energy reaction paths are obtained for hydrogen atom transfer (tautomerization) reactions in the ground and the lowest excited electronic states. It is found that the barrier heights and the shapes of the reaction paths are different for the ground and the excited electronic states, suggesting that the probability of such tautomerization reaction is higher on the excited state potential energy surface. This tautomerization process should become possible in the presence of water or other polar solvent molecules and should play an important role in the photochemistry of adenine.

Ultrafast 25-fs relaxation in highly excited states of methyl azide mediated by strong nonadiabatic coupling.

PubMed

Peters, William K; Couch, David E; Mignolet, Benoit; Shi, Xuetao; Nguyen, Quynh L; Fortenberry, Ryan C; Schlegel, H Bernhard; Remacle, Françoise; Kapteyn, Henry C; Murnane, Margaret M; Li, Wen

2017-12-26

Highly excited electronic states are challenging to explore experimentally and theoretically-due to the large density of states and the fact that small structural changes lead to large changes in electronic character with associated strong nonadiabatic dynamics. They can play a key role in astrophysical and ionospheric chemistry, as well as the detonation chemistry of high-energy density materials. Here, we implement ultrafast vacuum-UV (VUV)-driven electron-ion coincidence imaging spectroscopy to directly probe the reaction pathways of highly excited states of energetic molecules-in this case, methyl azide. Our data, combined with advanced theoretical simulations, show that photoexcitation of methyl azide by a 10-fs UV pulse at 8 eV drives fast structural changes and strong nonadiabatic coupling that leads to relaxation to other excited states on a surprisingly fast timescale of 25 fs. This ultrafast relaxation differs from dynamics occurring on lower excited states, where the timescale required for the wavepacket to reach a region of strong nonadiabatic coupling is typically much longer. Moreover, our theoretical calculations show that ultrafast relaxation of the wavepacket to a lower excited state occurs along one of the conical intersection seams before reaching the minimum energy conical intersection. These findings are important for understanding the unique strongly coupled non-Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics of VUV-excited energetic molecules. Although such observations have been predicted for many years, this study represents one of the few where such strongly coupled non-Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics of VUV-excited energetic molecules have been conclusively observed directly, making it possible to identify the ultrafast reaction pathways.

Orientation-dependent imaging of electronically excited quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Duc; Goings, Joshua J.; Nguyen, Huy A.; Lyding, Joseph; Li, Xiaosong; Gruebele, Martin

2018-02-01

We previously demonstrated that we can image electronic excitations of quantum dots by single-molecule absorption scanning tunneling microscopy (SMA-STM). With this technique, a modulated laser beam periodically saturates an electronic transition of a single nanoparticle, and the resulting tunneling current modulation ΔI(x0, y0) maps out the SMA-STM image. In this paper, we first derive the basic theory to calculate ΔI(x0, y0) in the one-electron approximation. For near-resonant tunneling through an empty orbital "i" of the nanostructure, the SMA-STM signal is approximately proportional to the electron density |φi) (x0,y0)|

Orientation-dependent imaging of electronically excited quantum dots.

PubMed

Nguyen, Duc; Goings, Joshua J; Nguyen, Huy A; Lyding, Joseph; Li, Xiaosong; Gruebele, Martin

2018-02-14

We previously demonstrated that we can image electronic excitations of quantum dots by single-molecule absorption scanning tunneling microscopy (SMA-STM). With this technique, a modulated laser beam periodically saturates an electronic transition of a single nanoparticle, and the resulting tunneling current modulation ΔI(x 0 , y 0 ) maps out the SMA-STM image. In this paper, we first derive the basic theory to calculate ΔI(x 0 , y 0 ) in the one-electron approximation. For near-resonant tunneling through an empty orbital "i" of the nanostructure, the SMA-STM signal is approximately proportional to the electron density φ i x 0 ,y 0 2 of the excited orbital in the tunneling region. Thus, the SMA-STM signal is approximated by an orbital density map (ODM) of the resonantly excited orbital at energy E i . The situation is more complex for correlated electron motion, but either way a slice through the excited electronic state structure in the tunneling region is imaged. We then show experimentally that we can nudge quantum dots on the surface and roll them, thus imaging excited state electronic structure of a single quantum dot at different orientations. We use density functional theory to model ODMs at various orientations, for qualitative comparison with the SMA-STM experiment. The model demonstrates that our experimentally observed signal monitors excited states, localized by defects near the surface of an individual quantum dot. The sub-nanometer super-resolution imaging technique demonstrated here could become useful for mapping out the three-dimensional structure of excited states localized by defects within nanomaterials.

a Computational Tddft Study on Intramolecular Charge Transfer in Di-Tert and 2,4,6-TRICYANOANILINES.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujiwara, Takashige; Zgierski, Marek Z.

2014-06-01

We have carried out TDDFT computational studies on the low-lying excited states of di-tert-butylaminobenzonitrile and 2,4,6-tricyanoaniline compounds that exhibit unusual photophysical behaviors associated with the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT). For both 3- and 4-di-tert-butylamino)benzonitriles (m-DTBABN and p-DTBABN, respectively) show the ICT formation, and p-DTBABN appears to be the only meta-substituted aminobenzonitrile that exhibits the ICT formation. The TDDFT calculations indicate evidence that the ultrafast ICT formation in p-DTBABN and m-DTBABN is due to the sequential state switches: ππ*(La)→ πσ*→ ICT in the presence of conical intersections among the three closely-lying excited-states. On the other hand, 2,4,6-tricyanoaniline does not show clear evidence for the LE (locally excited) state → ICT state formation from steady-state fluorescence studies, despite the greater electron acceptor strength of tricycanobenzene as compared to monocyanobenzene, which is part of a 4-(dimethylamino)benzonitrile (p-DMABN) compound. However, it is predicted that 2,4,6-tricyano-N,N-dimethylaniline (TCDMA), but not 2,4,6-tricyanoaniline (TCA), possesses two ICT states, which show the ICT-characterized quinoidal structures and lie below the initially photo-excited S1(ππ*) state. The CC2 calculations further predict two conformers as labeled with quinoidal (ICT--Q) and anti-quinoidal (ICT--AQ) structures are rapidly interconnecting with each other. The lower energy ICT--Q structure tends to be populated from the unstable ICT--AQ structure, which is responsible for the observed time-resolved fluorescence as well as the excited-state absorption from the mixed S1(ππ*)/ICT state of TCDMA. In both cases for TCDMA and TCA, the πσ* state locates significantly higher in energy than the S1(ππ*) state (and the ICT state for TCA), thus precluding the πσ*→ ICT formation, which is believed to occur in a p-DMABN in polar environments.

A theoretical study of bond selective photochemistry in CH2BrI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Kun; Zhao, Hongmei; Wang, Caixia; Zhang, Aihua; Ma, Siyu; Li, Zonghe

2005-01-01

Bromoiodomethane photodissociation in the low-lying excited states has been characterized using unrestricted Hartree-Fock, configuration-interaction-singles, and complete active space self-consistent field calculations with the SDB-aug-cc-pVTZ, aug-cc-pVTZ, and 3-21g** basis sets. According to the results of the vertical excited energies and oscillator strengths of these low-lying excited states, bond selectivity is predicted. Subsequently, the minimum energy paths of the first excited singlet state and the third excited state for the dissociation reactions were calculated using the complete active space self-consistent field method with 3-21g** basis set. Good agreement is found between the calculations and experimental data. The relationships of excitations, the electronic structures at Franck-Condon points, and bond selectivity are discussed.

Excited-State Structure of Oligothiophene Dendrimers: Computational and Experimental Study

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-01-01

REPORT Excited-State Structure of Oligothiophene Dendrimers : Computational and Experimental Study 14. ABSTRACT 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: The...nature of one and two-photon absorption enhancement in a series of oligothiophene dendrimers , recently proposed for applications in entangled photon...upconversion measurements). The linear absorption spectra exhibit a red shift of the absorption maxima and broadening as a function of dendrimer generations

Optimal multi-type sensor placement for response and excitation reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, C. D.; Xu, Y. L.

2016-01-01

The need to perform dynamic response reconstruction always arises as the measurement of structural response is often limited to a few locations, especially for a large civil structure. Besides, it is usually very difficult, if not impossible, to measure external excitations under the operation condition of a structure. This study presents an algorithm for optimal placement of multi-type sensors, including strain gauges, displacement transducers and accelerometers, for the best reconstruction of responses of key structural components where there are no sensors installed and the best estimation of external excitations acting on the structure at the same time. The algorithm is developed in the framework of Kalman filter with unknown excitation, in which minimum-variance unbiased estimates of the generalized state of the structure and the external excitations are obtained by virtue of limited sensor measurements. The structural responses of key locations without sensors can then be reconstructed with the estimated generalized state and excitation. The asymptotic stability feature of the filter is utilized for optimal sensor placement. The number and spatial location of the multi-type sensors are determined by adding the optimal sensor which gains the maximal reduction of the estimation error of reconstructed responses. For the given mode number in response reconstruction and the given locations of external excitations, the optimal multi-sensor placement achieved by the proposed method is independent of the type and time evolution of external excitation. A simply-supported overhanging steel beam under multiple types of excitation is numerically studied to demonstrate the feasibility and superiority of the proposed method, and the experimental work is then carried out to testify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Ultrafast re-structuring of the electronic landscape of transparent dielectrics: new material states (Die-Met)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gamaly, E. G.; Rode, A. V.

2018-03-01

Swift excitation of transparent dielectrics by ultrashort and highly intense laser pulse leads to ultra-fast re-structuring of the electronic landscape and generates many transient material states, which are continuously reshaped in accord with the changing pulse intensity. These unconventional transient material states, which exhibit simultaneously both dielectric and metallic properties, we termed here as the `Die-Met' states. The excited material is transparent and conductive at the same time. The real part of permittivity of the excited material changes from positive to negative values with the increase of excitation, which affects strongly the interaction process during the laser pulse. When the incident field has a component along the permittivity gradient, the amplitude of the field increases resonantly near the point of zero permittivity, which dramatically changes the interaction mode and increases absorption in a way that is similar to the resonant absorption in plasma. The complex 3D structure of the permittivity makes a transparent part of the excited dielectric (at ɛ 0 > ɛ re > 0) optically active. The electro-magnetic wave gets a twisted trajectory and accrues the geometric phase while passing through such a medium. Both the phase and the rotation of the polarisation plane depend on the 3D permittivity structure. Measuring the transmission, polarisation and the phase of the probe beam allows one to quantitatively identify these new transient states. We discuss the revelations of this effect in different experimental situations and their possible applications.

Polarized fine structure in the photoluminescence excitation spectrum of a negatively charged quantum dot.

PubMed

Ware, M E; Stinaff, E A; Gammon, D; Doty, M F; Bracker, A S; Gershoni, D; Korenev, V L; Bădescu, S C; Lyanda-Geller, Y; Reinecke, T L

2005-10-21

We report polarized photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy of the negative trion in single charge-tunable quantum dots. The spectrum exhibits a p-shell resonance with polarized fine structure arising from the direct excitation of the electron spin triplet states. The energy splitting arises from the axially symmetric electron-hole exchange interaction. The magnitude and sign of the polarization are understood from the spin character of the triplet states and a small amount of quantum dot asymmetry, which mixes the wave functions through asymmetric e-e and e-h exchange interactions.

Nonadiabatic dynamics simulation of photoisomerization mechanism of the second stablest isomer of N-salicilydenemethylfurylamine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Aihua; Li, Jianpeng; Wang, Dehua; Ma, Xiaoguang; Wang, Meishan

2018-02-01

The photoisomerization processes of the second stablest isomer in the aromatic Schiff base, N-salicilydenemethylfurylamine, in the gas phase have been studied by static electronic structure calculations and surface-hopping dynamics simulations based on the Zhu-Nakamura theory. Various stable structures are obtained in the optimization because of different orientations of methyl-furyl part with respect to the salicylaldimine part and different orientations of hydroxy group with respect to the benzene ring. Upon photoexcitation into the first excited state, bond isomerization in the salicylaldimine part is completely suppressed until the strong excited-state hydrogen bond is broken. The decay pathway involves two excited-state minima, one in cis-enol form and the other in cis-keto form. After the excited-state proton transfer, twists of bonds lead to a conical intersection between the ground and excited states. After internal conversion around a conical intersection, the molecule is stabilized in cis- or trans-keto form. If the reverse hydrogen transfer process occurs in the ground state, the molecule will finally end up in the cis-enol region. The cis-keto and trans-keto isomers are observed as photoproducts. According to our full-dimensional nonadiabatic dynamics simulations, we find the excited-state intramolecular proton transfer and torsions of three single bonds in the chain to be responsible for photoisomerization of the second stablest isomer of N-salicilydenemethylfurylamine.

Controlling the excited-state dynamics of low band gap, near-infrared absorbers via proquinoidal unit electronic structural modulation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bai, Yusong; Rawson, Jeff; Roget, Sean A.

While the influence of proquinoidal character upon the linear absorption spectrum of low optical bandgap π-conjugated polymers and molecules is well understood, its impact upon excited-state relaxation pathways and dynamics remains obscure. We report the syntheses, electronic structural properties, and excited-state dynamics of a series of model highly conjugated near-infrared (NIR)-absorbing chromophores based on a (porphinato)metal(II)-proquinoidal spacer-(porphinato)metal(II) (PM-Sp-PM) structural motif. A combination of excited-state dynamical studies and time-dependent density functional theory calculations: (i) points to the cardinal role that excited-state configuration interaction (CI) plays in determining the magnitudes of S 1 → S 0 radiative (k r), S 1 → T 1 intersystem crossing (k ISC), and S 1 → S 0 internal conversion (k IC) rate constants in these PM-Sp-PM chromophores, and (ii) suggests that a primary determinant of CI magnitude derives from the energetic alignment of the PM and Sp fragment LUMOs (ΔE L). These insights not only enable steering of excited-state relaxation dynamics of high oscillator strength NIR absorbers to realize either substantial fluorescence or long-lived triplets (τmore » $$_ {T_1}$$ > μs) generated at unit quantum yield (Φ ISC = 100%), but also crafting of those having counter-intuitive properties: for example, while (porphinato)platinum compounds are well known to generate non-emissive triplet states (Φ ISC = 100%) upon optical excitation at ambient temperature, diminishing the extent of excited-state CI in these systems realizes long-wavelength absorbing heavy-metal fluorophores. In conclusion, this work highlights approaches to: (i) modulate low-lying singlet excited-state lifetime over the picosecond-to-nanosecond time domain, (ii) achieve NIR fluorescence with quantum yields up to 25%, (iii) tune the magnitude of S 1–T 1 ISC rate constant from 10 9 to 10 12 s -1 and (iv) realize T 1-state lifetimes that range from ~0.1 to several μs, for these model PM-Sp-PM chromophores, and renders new insights to evolve bespoke photophysical properties for low optical bandgap π-conjugated polymers and molecules based on proquinoidal conjugation motifs.« less

Controlling the excited-state dynamics of low band gap, near-infrared absorbers via proquinoidal unit electronic structural modulation

DOE PAGES

Bai, Yusong; Rawson, Jeff; Roget, Sean A.; ...

2017-06-07

While the influence of proquinoidal character upon the linear absorption spectrum of low optical bandgap π-conjugated polymers and molecules is well understood, its impact upon excited-state relaxation pathways and dynamics remains obscure. We report the syntheses, electronic structural properties, and excited-state dynamics of a series of model highly conjugated near-infrared (NIR)-absorbing chromophores based on a (porphinato)metal(II)-proquinoidal spacer-(porphinato)metal(II) (PM-Sp-PM) structural motif. A combination of excited-state dynamical studies and time-dependent density functional theory calculations: (i) points to the cardinal role that excited-state configuration interaction (CI) plays in determining the magnitudes of S 1 → S 0 radiative (k r), S 1 → T 1 intersystem crossing (k ISC), and S 1 → S 0 internal conversion (k IC) rate constants in these PM-Sp-PM chromophores, and (ii) suggests that a primary determinant of CI magnitude derives from the energetic alignment of the PM and Sp fragment LUMOs (ΔE L). These insights not only enable steering of excited-state relaxation dynamics of high oscillator strength NIR absorbers to realize either substantial fluorescence or long-lived triplets (τmore » $$_ {T_1}$$ > μs) generated at unit quantum yield (Φ ISC = 100%), but also crafting of those having counter-intuitive properties: for example, while (porphinato)platinum compounds are well known to generate non-emissive triplet states (Φ ISC = 100%) upon optical excitation at ambient temperature, diminishing the extent of excited-state CI in these systems realizes long-wavelength absorbing heavy-metal fluorophores. In conclusion, this work highlights approaches to: (i) modulate low-lying singlet excited-state lifetime over the picosecond-to-nanosecond time domain, (ii) achieve NIR fluorescence with quantum yields up to 25%, (iii) tune the magnitude of S 1–T 1 ISC rate constant from 10 9 to 10 12 s -1 and (iv) realize T 1-state lifetimes that range from ~0.1 to several μs, for these model PM-Sp-PM chromophores, and renders new insights to evolve bespoke photophysical properties for low optical bandgap π-conjugated polymers and molecules based on proquinoidal conjugation motifs.« less

A benchmark study of electronic excitation energies, transition moments, and excited-state energy gradients on the nicotine molecule

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Egidi, Franco; Segado, Mireia; Koch, Henrik; Cappelli, Chiara; Barone, Vincenzo

2014-12-01

In this work, we report a comparative study of computed excitation energies, oscillator strengths, and excited-state energy gradients of (S)-nicotine, chosen as a test case, using multireference methods, coupled cluster singles and doubles, and methods based on time-dependent density functional theory. This system was chosen because its apparent simplicity hides a complex electronic structure, as several different types of valence excitations are possible, including n-π*, π-π*, and charge-transfer states, and in order to simulate its spectrum it is necessary to describe all of them consistently well by the chosen method.

A benchmark study of electronic excitation energies, transition moments, and excited-state energy gradients on the nicotine molecule

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Egidi, Franco, E-mail: franco.egidi@sns.it; Segado, Mireia; Barone, Vincenzo, E-mail: vincenzo.barone@sns.it

In this work, we report a comparative study of computed excitation energies, oscillator strengths, and excited-state energy gradients of (S)-nicotine, chosen as a test case, using multireference methods, coupled cluster singles and doubles, and methods based on time-dependent density functional theory. This system was chosen because its apparent simplicity hides a complex electronic structure, as several different types of valence excitations are possible, including n-π{sup *}, π-π{sup *}, and charge-transfer states, and in order to simulate its spectrum it is necessary to describe all of them consistently well by the chosen method.

Direct time-domain observation of attosecond final-state lifetimes in photoemission from solids

DOE PAGES

Tao, Z.; Chen, C.; Szilvasi, T.; ...

2016-06-01

Attosecond spectroscopic techniques have made it possible to measure differences in transport times for photoelectrons from localized core levels and delocalized valence bands in solids. Here, we report the application of attosecond pulse trains to directly and unambiguously measure the difference in lifetimes between photoelectrons born into free electron–like states and those excited into unoccupied excited states in the band structure of nickel (111). An enormous increase in lifetime of 212 ± 30 attoseconds occurs when the final state coincides with a short-lived excited state. Moreover, a strong dependence of this lifetime on emission angle is directly related to themore » final-state band dispersion as a function of electron transverse momentum. Our finding underscores the importance of the material band structure in determining photoelectron lifetimes and corresponding electron escape depths.« less

Exact finite volume expectation values of local operators in excited states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pozsgay, B.; Szécsényi, I. M.; Takács, G.

2015-04-01

We present a conjecture for the exact expression of finite volume expectation values in excited states in integrable quantum field theories, which is an extension of an earlier conjecture to the case of general diagonal factorized scattering with bound states and a nontrivial bootstrap structure. The conjectured expression is a spectral expansion which uses the exact form factors and the excited state thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz as building blocks. The conjecture is proven for the case of the trace of the energy-moment tensor. Concerning its validity for more general operators, we provide numerical evidence using the truncated conformal space approach. It is found that the expansion fails to be well-defined for small values of the volume in cases when the singularity structure of the TBA equations undergoes a non-trivial rearrangement under some critical value of the volume. Despite these shortcomings, the conjectured expression is expected to be valid for all volumes for most of the excited states, and as an expansion above the critical volume for the rest.

Chemical modulation of electronic structure at the excited state

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, F.; Song, C.; Gu, Y. D.; Saleem, M. S.; Pan, F.

2017-12-01

Spin-polarized electronic structures are the cornerstone of spintronics, and have thus attracted a significant amount of interest; in particular, researchers are looking into how to modulate the electronic structure to enable multifunctional spintronics applications, especially in half-metallic systems. However, the control of the spin polarization has only been predicted in limited two-dimensional systems with spin-polarized Dirac structures and is difficult to achieve experimentally. Here, we report the modulation of the electronic structure in the light-induced excited state in a typical half-metal, L a1 /2S r1 /2Mn O3 -δ . According to the spin-transport measurements, there appears a light-induced increase in magnetoresistance due to the enhanced spin scattering, which is closely associated with the excited spin polarization. Strikingly, the light-induced variation can be enhanced via alcohol processing and reduced by oxygen annealing. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements show that in the chemical process, a redox reaction occurs with a change in the valence of Mn. Furthermore, first-principles calculations reveal that the change in the valence of Mn alters the electronic structure and consequently modulates the spin polarization in the excited state. Our findings thus report a chemically tunable electronic structure, demonstrating interesting physics and the potential for multifunctional applications and ultrafast spintronics.

Spectroscopy of Isolated Prebiotic Nucleobases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Svadlenak, Nathan; Callahan, Michael P.; Ligare, Marshall; Gulian, Lisa; Gengeliczki, Zsolt; Nachtigallova, Dana; Hobza, Pavel; deVries, Mattanjah

2011-01-01

We use multiphoton ionization and double resonance spectroscopy to study the excited state dynamics of biologically relevant molecules as well as prebiotic nucleobases, isolated in the gas phase. Molecules that are biologically relevant to life today tend to exhibit short excited state lifetimes compared to similar but non-biologically relevant analogs. The mechanism is internal conversion, which may help protect the biologically active molecules from UV damage. This process is governed by conical intersections that depend very strongly on molecular structure. Therefore we have studied purines and pyrimidines with systematic variations of structure, including substitutions, tautomeric forms, and cluster structures that represent different base pair binding motifs. These structural variations also include possible alternate base pairs that may shed light on prebiotic chemistry. With this in mind we have begun to probe the ultrafast dynamics of molecules that exhibit very short excited states and search for evidence of internal conversions.

Quantum-chemical investigation of the structures and electronic spectra of the nucleic acid bases at the coupled cluster CC2 level.

PubMed

Fleig, Timo; Knecht, Stefan; Hättig, Christof

2007-06-28

We study the ground-state structures and singlet- and triplet-excited states of the nucleic acid bases by applying the coupled cluster model CC2 in combination with a resolution-of-the-identity approximation for electron interaction integrals. Both basis set effects and the influence of dynamic electron correlation on the molecular structures are elucidated; the latter by comparing CC2 with Hartree-Fock and Møller-Plesset perturbation theory to second order. Furthermore, we investigate basis set and electron correlation effects on the vertical excitation energies and compare our highest-level results with experiment and other theoretical approaches. It is shown that small basis sets are insufficient for obtaining accurate results for excited states of these molecules and that the CC2 approach to dynamic electron correlation is a reliable and efficient tool for electronic structure calculations on medium-sized molecules.

Organic Micro/Nanoscale Lasers.

PubMed

Zhang, Wei; Yao, Jiannian; Zhao, Yong Sheng

2016-09-20

Micro/nanoscale lasers that can deliver intense coherent light signals at (sub)wavelength scale have recently captured broad research interest because of their potential applications ranging from on-chip information processing to high-throughput sensing. Organic molecular materials are a promising kind of ideal platform to construct high-performance microlasers, mainly because of their superiority in abundant excited-state processes with large active cross sections for high gain emissions and flexibly assembled structures for high-quality microcavities. In recent years, ever-increasing efforts have been dedicated to developing such organic microlasers toward low threshold, multicolor output, broadband tunability, and easy integration. Therefore, it is increasingly important to summarize this research field and give deep insight into the structure-property relationships of organic microlasers to accelerate the future development. In this Account, we will review the recent advances in organic miniaturized lasers, with an emphasis on tunable laser performances based on the tailorable microcavity structures and controlled excited-state gain processes of organic materials toward integrated photonic applications. Organic π-conjugated molecules with weak intermolecular interactions readily assemble into regular nanostructures that can serve as high-quality optical microcavities for the strong confinement of photons. On the basis of rational material design, a series of optical microcavities with different structures have been controllably synthesized. These microcavity nanostructures can be endowed with effective four-level dynamic gain processes, such as excited-state intramolecular charge transfer, excited-state intramolecular proton transfer, and excimer processes, that exhibit large dipole optical transitions for strongly active gain behaviors. By tailoring these excited-state processes with molecular/crystal engineering and external stimuli, people have effectively modulated the performances of organic micro/nanolasers. Furthermore, by means of controlled assembly and tunable laser performances, efficient outcoupling of microlasers has been successfully achieved in various organic hybrid microstructures, showing considerable potential for the integrated photonic applications. This Account starts by presenting an overview of the research evolution of organic microlasers in terms of microcavity resonators and energy-level gain. Then a series of strategies to tailor the microcavity structures and excited-state dynamics of organic nanomaterials for the modulation of lasing performances are highlighted. In the following part, we introduce the construction and advanced photonic functionalities of organic-microlaser-based hybrid structures and their applications in integrated nanophotonics. Finally, we provide our outlook on the current challenges as well as the future development of organic microlasers. It is anticipated that this Account will provide inspiration for the development of miniaturized lasers with desired performances by tailoring of excited-state processes and microcavity structures toward integrated photonic applications.

Interfacing the Ab initio multiple spawning method with electronic structure methods in GAMESS: Photodecay of trans-Azomethane

DOE PAGES

Gaenko, Alexander; DeFusco, Albert; Varganov, Sergey A.; ...

2014-10-20

This work presents a nonadiabatic molecular dynamics study of the nonradiative decay of photoexcited trans-azomethane, using the ab initio multiple spawning (AIMS) program that has been interfaced with the General Atomic and Molecular Electronic Structure System (GAMESS) quantum chemistry package for on-the-fly electronic structure evaluation. The interface strategy is discussed, and the capabilities of the combined programs are demonstrated with a nonadiabatic molecular dynamics study of the nonradiative decay of photoexcited trans-azomethane. Energies, gradients, and nonadiabatic coupling matrix elements were obtained with the state-averaged complete active space self-consistent field method, as implemented in GAMESS. The influence of initial vibrational excitationmore » on the outcome of the photoinduced isomerization is explored. Increased vibrational excitation in the CNNC torsional mode shortens the excited state lifetime. Depending on the degree of vibrational excitation, the excited state lifetime varies from ~60–200 fs. As a result, these short lifetimes are in agreement with time-resolved photoionization mass spectroscopy experiments.« less

Ab initio calculation of the electronic structures of the (7)Sigma+ ground and A (7)Pi and a (5)Sigma+ excited states of MnH.

PubMed

Tomonari, Mutsumi; Nagashima, Umpei; Hirano, Tsuneo

2009-04-21

Electronic structures and molecular constants of the ground (7)Sigma(+) and low-lying A (7)Pi and a (5)Sigma(+) electronic excited states of the MnH molecule were studied by multireference single and double excitation configuration interaction (MR-SDCI) with Davidson's correction (+Q) calculations under exact C(infinity v) symmetry using Slater-type basis sets. To correctly describe the (7)Sigma(+) electronic ground state, X (7)Sigma(+), at the MR-SDCI+Q calculation, we employed a large number of reference configurations in terms of the state-averaged complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) orbitals, taking into account the contribution from the B (7)Sigma(+) excited state. The A (7)Pi and a (5)Sigma(+) states can well be described by the MR-SDCI wave functions based on the CASSCF orbitals obtained for the lowest state only. In the MR-SDCI+Q, calculations of the X (7)Sigma(+), A (7)Pi, and a (5)Sigma(+) states required 16, 7, and 17 reference configurations, respectively. Molecular constants, i.e., r(e) and omega(e) of these states and excitation energy from the X (7)Sigma(+) state, obtained at the MR-SDCI+Q level, showed a good agreement with experimental values. The small remaining differences may be accounted for by taking relativistic effects into account.

Ab initio calculation of the electronic structures of the 7∑+ ground and A 7Π and a 5∑+ excited states of MnH

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomonari, Mutsumi; Nagashima, Umpei; Hirano, Tsuneo

2009-04-01

Electronic structures and molecular constants of the ground ∑7+ and low-lying A 7Π and a ∑5+ electronic excited states of the MnH molecule were studied by multireference single and double excitation configuration interaction (MR-SDCI) with Davidson's correction (+Q) calculations under exact C∞v symmetry using Slater-type basis sets. To correctly describe the ∑7+ electronic ground state, X ∑7+, at the MR-SDCI+Q calculation, we employed a large number of reference configurations in terms of the state-averaged complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) orbitals, taking into account the contribution from the B ∑7+ excited state. The A 7Π and a ∑5+ states can well be described by the MR-SDCI wave functions based on the CASSCF orbitals obtained for the lowest state only. In the MR-SDCI+Q, calculations of the X ∑7+, A 7Π, and a ∑5+ states required 16, 7, and 17 reference configurations, respectively. Molecular constants, i.e., re and ωe of these states and excitation energy from the X ∑7+ state, obtained at the MR-SDCI+Q level, showed a good agreement with experimental values. The small remaining differences may be accounted for by taking relativistic effects into account.

Jahn-Teller distortion in the phosphorescent excited state of three-coordinate Au(I) phosphine complexes.

PubMed

Barakat, Khaldoon A; Cundari, Thomas R; Omary, Mohammad A

2003-11-26

DFT calculations were used to optimize the phosphorescent excited state of three-coordinate [Au(PR3)3]+ complexes. The results indicate that the complexes rearrange from their singlet ground-state trigonal planar geometry to a T-shape in the lowest triplet luminescent excited state. The optimized structure of the exciton contradicts the structure predicted based on the AuP bonding properties of the ground-state HOMO and LUMO. The rearrangement to T-shape is a Jahn-Teller distortion because an electron is taken from the degenerate e' (5dxy, 5dx2-y2) orbital upon photoexcitation of the ground-state D3h complex. The calculated UV absorption and visible emission energies are consistent with the experimental data and explain the large Stokes' shifts while such correlations are not possible in optimized models that constrained the exciton to the ground-state trigonal geometry.

Influence of solvent and substituent on excited state characteristics of laser grade coumarin dyes.

PubMed

Sharma, Vijay K; Saharo, P D; Sharma, Neera; Rastogi, Ramesh C; Ghoshal, S K; Mohan, D

2003-04-01

Absorption and fluorescence emission of 4 and 7 substituted coumarins viz. C 440, C 490, C 485 and C 311 have been studied in various polar and non-polar organic solvents. These coumarin dyes are substituted with alkyl, amine and fluorine groups at 4- and 7-positions. They give different absorption and emission spectra in different solvents. The study leads to a possible assignment of energy level scheme for such coumarins including the effect on ground state and excited state dipole moments due to substitutions. Excited state dipole moments of these dyes are calculated by solvetochromic data experimentally and theoretically these are calculated by PM 3 method. The dipole moments in excited state, for all molecules investigated here, are higher than the corresponding values in the ground state. The increase in dipole moment has been explained in terms of the nature of excited state and resonance structure.

Experimental Observation of One-Dimensional Superradiance Lattices in Ultracold Atoms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Liangchao; Wang, Pengjun; Meng, Zengming; Huang, Lianghui; Cai, Han; Wang, Da-Wei; Zhu, Shi-Yao; Zhang, Jing

2018-05-01

We measure the superradiant emission in a one-dimensional (1D) superradiance lattice (SL) in ultracold atoms. Resonantly excited to a superradiant state, the atoms are further coupled to other collectively excited states, which form a 1D SL. The directional emission of one of the superradiant excited states in the 1D SL is measured. The emission spectra depend on the band structure, which can be controlled by the frequency and intensity of the coupling laser fields. This work provides a platform for investigating the collective Lamb shift of resonantly excited superradiant states in Bose-Einstein condensates and paves the way for realizing higher dimensional superradiance lattices.

Excited-state structure and isomerization dynamics of the retinal chromophore in rhodopsin from resonance Raman intensities.

PubMed Central

Loppnow, G R; Mathies, R A

1988-01-01

Resonance Raman excitation profiles have been measured for the bovine visual pigment rhodopsin using excitation wavelengths ranging from 457.9 to 647.1 nm. A complete Franck-Condon analysis of the absorption spectrum and resonance Raman excitation profiles has been performed using an excited-state, time-dependent wavepacket propagation technique. This has enabled us to determine the change in geometry upon electronic excitation of rhodopsin's 11-cis-retinal protonated Schiff base chromophore along 25 normal coordinates. Intense low-frequency Raman lines are observed at 98, 135, 249, 336, and 461 cm-1 whose intensities provide quantitative, mode-specific information about the excited-state torsional deformations that lead to isomerization. The dominant contribution to the width of the absorption band in rhodopsin results from Franck-Condon progressions in the 1,549 cm-1 ethylenic normal mode. The lack of vibronic structure in the absorption spectrum is shown to be caused by extensive progressions in low-frequency torsional modes and a large homogeneous linewidth (170 cm-1 half-width) together with thermal population of low-frequency modes and inhomogeneous site distribution effects. The resonance Raman cross-sections of rhodopsin are unusually weak because the excited-state wavepacket moves rapidly (approximately 35 fs) and permanently away from the Franck-Condon geometry along skeletal stretching and torsional coordinates. PMID:3416032

Circular dichroism and site-directed spin labeling reveal structural and dynamical features of high-pressure states of myoglobin

PubMed Central

Lerch, Michael T.; Horwitz, Joseph; McCoy, John; Hubbell, Wayne L.

2013-01-01

Excited states of proteins may play important roles in function, yet are difficult to study spectroscopically because of their sparse population. High hydrostatic pressure increases the equilibrium population of excited states, enabling their characterization [Akasaka K (2003) Biochemistry 42:10875–85]. High-pressure site-directed spin-labeling EPR (SDSL-EPR) was developed recently to map the site-specific structure and dynamics of excited states populated by pressure. To monitor global secondary structure content by circular dichroism (CD) at high pressure, a modified optical cell using a custom MgF2 window with a reduced aperture is introduced. Here, a combination of SDSL-EPR and CD is used to map reversible structural transitions in holomyoglobin and apomyoglobin (apoMb) as a function of applied pressure up to 2 kbar. CD shows that the high-pressure excited state of apoMb at pH 6 has helical content identical to that of native apoMb, but reversible changes reflecting the appearance of a conformational ensemble are observed by SDSL-EPR, suggesting a helical topology that fluctuates slowly on the EPR time scale. Although the high-pressure state of apoMb at pH 6 has been referred to as a molten globule, the data presented here reveal significant differences from the well-characterized pH 4.1 molten globule of apoMb. Pressure-populated states of both holomyoglobin and apoMb at pH 4.1 have significantly less helical structure, and for the latter, that may correspond to a transient folding intermediate. PMID:24248390

Non-Adiabatic Effects on Excited States of Vinylidene Observed with Slow Photoelectron Velocity-Map Imaging.

PubMed

DeVine, Jessalyn A; Weichman, Marissa L; Zhou, Xueyao; Ma, Jianyi; Jiang, Bin; Guo, Hua; Neumark, Daniel M

2016-12-21

High-resolution slow photoelectron velocity-map imaging spectra of cryogenically cooled X̃ 2 B 2 H 2 CC - and D 2 CC - in the region of the vinylidene triplet excited states are reported. Three electronic bands are observed and, with the assistance of electronic structure calculations and quantum dynamics on ab initio-based near-equilibrium potential energy surfaces, are assigned as detachment to the [Formula: see text] 3 B 2 (T 1 ), b̃ 3 A 2 (T 2 ), and à 1 A 2 (S 1 ) excited states of neutral vinylidene. This work provides the first experimental observation of the à singlet excited state of H 2 CC. While regular vibrational structure is observed for the ã and à electronic bands, a number of irregular features are resolved in the vicinity of the b̃ band vibrational origin. High-level ab initio calculations suggest that this anomalous structure arises from a conical intersection between the ã and b̃ triplet states near the b̃ state minimum, which strongly perturbs the vibrational levels in the two electronic states through nonadiabatic coupling. Using the adiabatic electron affinity of H 2 CC previously measured to be 0.490(6) eV by Ervin and co-workers [J. Chem. Phys. 1989, 91, 5974], term energies for the excited neutral states of H 2 CC are found to be T 0 (ã 3 B 2 ) = 2.064(6), T 0 (b̃ 3 A 2 ) = 2.738(6), and T 0 (à 1 A 2 ) = 2.991(6) eV.

Persistent order due to transiently enhanced nesting in an electronically excited charge density wave

DOE PAGES

Rettig, L.; Cortés, R.; Chu, J. -H.; ...

2016-01-25

Non-equilibrium conditions may lead to novel properties of materials with broken symmetry ground states not accessible in equilibrium as vividly demonstrated by non-linearly driven mid-infrared active phonon excitation. Potential energy surfaces of electronically excited states also allow to direct nuclear motion, but relaxation of the excess energy typically excites fluctuations leading to a reduced or even vanishing order parameter as characterized by an electronic energy gap. Here, using femtosecond time-and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we demonstrate a tendency towards transient stabilization of a charge density wave after near-infrared excitation, counteracting the suppression of order in the non-equilibrium state. Analysis of themore » dynamic electronic structure reveals a remaining energy gap in a highly excited transient state. In conclusion, our observation can be explained by a competition between fluctuations in the electronically excited state, which tend to reduce order, and transiently enhanced Fermi surface nesting stabilizing the order.« less

Photoinduced Charge Shifts and Electron Transfer in Viologen-Tetraphenylborate Complexes: Push-Pull Character of the Exciplex.

PubMed

Santos, Willy G; Budkina, Darya S; Deflon, Victor M; Tarnovsky, Alexander N; Cardoso, Daniel R; Forbes, Malcolm D E

2017-06-14

Viologen-tetraarylborate ion-pair complexes were prepared and investigated by steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic techniques such as fluorescence and femtosecond transient absorption. The results highlight a charge transfer transition that leads to changes in the viologen structure in the excited singlet state. Femtosecond transient absorption reveals the formation of excited-state absorption and stimulated emission bands assigned to the planar (k obs < 10 12 s -1 ) and twisted (k obs ∼ 10 10 s -1 ) structures between two pyridinium groups in the viologen ion. An efficient photoinduced electron transfer from the tetraphenylborate anionic moiety to the viologen dication was observed less than 1 μs after excitation. This is a consequence of the push-pull character of the electron donor twisted viologen structure, which helps formation of the borate triplet state. The borate triplet state is deactivated further via a second electron transfer process, generating viologen cation radical (V •+ ).

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kohler, Lars; Hadt, Ryan G.; Hayes, Dugan

In this paper we describe the synthesis of a new phenanthroline ligand, 2,9-di(2,4,6-tri-isopropyl-phenyl)-1,10-phenanthroline (bL2) and its use as the blocking ligand in the preparation of two new heteroleptic Cu(I)diimine complexes. Analysis of the CuHETPHEN single crystal structures shows a distinct distortion from an ideal tetrahedral geometry around the Cu(I) center, forced by the secondary phenanthroline ligand rotating to accommodate the isopropyl groups of bL2. The increased steric bulk of bL2 as compared to the more commonly used 2,9-dimesityl-1,10-phenanthroline blocking ligand prohibits intramolecular ligand–ligand interaction, which is unique among CuHETPHEN complexes. The ground state optical and redox properties of CuHETPHEN complexesmore » are responsive to the substitution on the blocking ligand even though the differences in structure are far removed from the Cu(I) center. Transient optical spectroscopy was used to understand the excited state kinetics in both coordinating and non-coordinating solvents following visible excitation. Substitution of the blocking phenanthroline ligand has a significant impact on the 3MLCT decay and can be used to increase the excited state lifetime by 50%. Electronic structure calculations established relationships between ground and excited state properties, and general entatic state concepts are discussed for copper photosensitizers. This work contributes to the growing library of CuHETPHEN complexes and broadens the fundamental understanding of their ground and excited state properties.« less

A new twist in the photophysics of the GFP chromophore: a volume-conserving molecular torsion couple† †Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Synthetic methods and characterization; fluorescence up-conversion data; additional computational details; Cartesian coordinates of key structures; photochemical isomerization data; data for the anion of I. See DOI: 10.1039/c7sc04091a

PubMed Central

Conyard, Jamie; Heisler, Ismael A.; Chan, Yohan; Bulman Page, Philip C.

2018-01-01

The simple structure of the chromophore of the green fluorescent protein (GFP), a phenol and an imidazolone ring linked by a methyne bridge, supports an exceptionally diverse range of excited state phenomena. Here we describe experimentally and theoretically the photochemistry of a novel sterically crowded nonplanar derivative of the GFP chromophore. It undergoes an excited state isomerization reaction accompanied by an exceptionally fast (sub 100 fs) excited state decay. The decay dynamics are essentially independent of solvent polarity and viscosity. Excited state structural dynamics are probed by high level quantum chemical calculations revealing that the fast decay is due to a conical intersection characterized by a twist of the rings and pyramidalization of the methyne bridge carbon. The intersection can be accessed without a barrier from the pre-twisted Franck–Condon structure, and the lack of viscosity dependence is due to the fact that the rings twist in the same direction, giving rise to a volume-conserving decay coordinate. Moreover, the rotation of the phenyl, methyl and imidazolone groups is coupled in the sterically crowded structure, with the methyl group translating the rotation of one ring to the next. As a consequence, the excited state dynamics can be viewed as a torsional couple, where the absorbed photon energy leads to conversion of the out-of-plane orientation from one ring to the other in a volume conserving fashion. A similar modification of the range of methyne dyes may provide a new family of devices for molecular machines, specifically torsional couples. PMID:29675225

Near ultraviolet photodissociation spectroscopy of Mn+(H2O) and Mn+(D2O)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pearson, Wright L.; Copeland, Christopher; Kocak, Abdulkadir; Sallese, Zachary; Metz, Ricardo B.

2014-11-01

The electronic spectra of Mn+(H2O) and Mn+(D2O) have been measured from 30 000 to 35 000 cm-1 using photodissociation spectroscopy. Transitions are observed from the 7A1 ground state in which the Mn+ is in a 3d54s1 electronic configuration, to the 7B2 (3d54py) and 7B1 (3d54px) excited states with T0 = 30 210 and 32 274 cm-1, respectively. Each electronic transition has partially resolved rotational and extensive vibrational structure with an extended progression in the metal-ligand stretch at a frequency of ˜450 cm-1. There are also progressions in the in-plane bend in the 7B2 state, due to vibronic coupling, and the out-of-plane bend in the 7B1 state, where the calculation illustrates that this state is slightly non-planar. Electronic structure computations at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ and TD-DFT B3LYP/6-311++G(3df,3pd) level are also used to characterize the ground and excited states, respectively. These calculations predict a ground state Mn-O bond length of 2.18 Å. Analysis of the experimentally observed vibrational intensities reveals that this bond length decreases by 0.15 ± 0.015 Å and 0.14 ± 0.01 Å in the excited states. The behavior is accounted for by the less repulsive px and py orbitals causing the Mn+ to interact more strongly with water in the excited states than the ground state. The result is a decrease in the Mn-O bond length, along with an increase in the H-O-H angle. The spectra have well resolved K rotational structure. Fitting this structure gives spin-rotation constants ɛaa″ = -3 ± 1 cm-1 for the ground state and ɛaa' = 0.5 ± 0.5 cm-1 and ɛaa' = -4.2 ± 0.7 cm-1 for the first and second excited states, respectively, and A' = 12.8 ± 0.7 cm-1 for the first excited state. Vibrationally mediated photodissociation studies determine the O-H antisymmetric stretching frequency in the ground electronic state to be 3658 cm-1.

Excited State Structural Dynamics of Carotenoids and ChargeTransfer Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Van Tassle, Aaron Justin

This dissertation describes the development andimplementation of a visible/near infrared pump/mid-infrared probeapparatus. Chapter 1 describes the background and motivation ofinvestigating optically induced structural dynamics, paying specificattention to solvation and the excitation selection rules of highlysymmetric molecules such as carotenoids. Chapter 2 describes thedevelopment and construction of the experimental apparatus usedthroughout the remainder of this dissertation. Chapter 3 will discuss theinvestigation of DCM, a laser dye with a fluorescence signal resultingfrom a charge transfer state. By studying the dynamics of DCM and of itsmethyl deuterated isotopomer (an otherwise identical molecule), we areable to investigate the origins of the charge transfer statemore » and provideevidence that it is of the controversial twisted intramolecular (TICT)type. Chapter 4 introduces the use of two-photon excitation to the S1state, combined with one-photon excitation to the S2 state of thecarotenoid beta-apo-8'-carotenal. These 2 investigations show evidencefor the formation of solitons, previously unobserved in molecular systemsand found only in conducting polymers Chapter 5 presents an investigationof the excited state dynamics of peridinin, the carotenoid responsiblefor the light harvesting of dinoflagellates. This investigation allowsfor a more detailed understanding of the importance of structuraldynamics of carotenoids in light harvesting.« less

The electronic structure of VO in its ground and electronically excited states: A combined matrix isolation and quantum chemical (MRCI) study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hübner, Olaf; Hornung, Julius; Himmel, Hans-Jörg, E-mail: hans-jorg.himmel@aci.uni-heidelberg.de

2015-07-14

The electronic ground and excited states of the vanadium monoxide (VO) molecule were studied in detail. Electronic absorption spectra for the molecule isolated in Ne matrices complement the previous gas-phase spectra. A thorough quantum chemical (multi-reference configuration interaction) study essentially confirms the assignment and characterization of the electronic excitations observed for VO in the gas-phase and in Ne matrices and allows the clarification of open issues. It provides a complete overview over the electronically excited states up to about 3 eV of this archetypical compound.

Substituent and Solvent Effects on Excited State Charge Transfer Behavior of Highly Fluorescent Dyes Containing Thiophenylimidazole-Based Aldehydes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Santos, Javier; Bu, Xiu R.; Mintz, Eric A.

2001-01-01

The excited state charge transfer for a series of highly fluorescent dyes containing thiophenylimidazole moiety was investigated. These systems follow the Twisted Intramolecular Charge Transfer (TICT) model. Dual fluorescence was observed for each substituted dye. X-ray structures analysis reveals a twisted ground state geometry for the donor substituted aryl on the 4 and 5 position at the imidazole ring. The excited state charge transfer was modeled by a linear solvation energy relationship using Taft's pi and Dimroth's E(sub T)(30) as solvent parameters. There is linear relation between the energy of the fluorescence transition and solvent polarity. The degree of stabilization of the excited state charge transfer was found to be consistent with the intramolecular molecular charge transfer. Excited dipole moment was studied by utilizing the solvatochromic shift method.

Polarized Fine Structure in the Photoluminescence Excitation Spectrum of a Negatively Charged Quantum Dot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ware, M. E.; Stinaff, E. A.; Gammon, D.; Doty, M. F.; Bracker, A. S.; Gershoni, D.; Korenev, V. L.; Bădescu, Ş. C.; Lyanda-Geller, Y.; Reinecke, T. L.

2005-10-01

We report polarized photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy of the negative trion in single charge-tunable InAs/GaAs quantum dots. The spectrum exhibits a p-shell resonance with polarized fine structure arising from the direct excitation of the electron spin triplet states. The energy splitting arises from the axially symmetric electron-hole exchange interaction. The magnitude and sign of the polarization are understood from the spin character of the triplet states and a small amount of quantum dot asymmetry, which mixes the wave functions through asymmetric e-e and e-h exchange interactions.

Rate-coefficients and polarization results for the electron-impact excitation of Ar+ ion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srivastava, Rajesh; Dipti, Dipti

2016-05-01

A fully relativistic distorted wave theory has been employed to study the electron impact excitation in Ar+ ion. Results have been obtained for the excitation cross-sections and rate-coefficients for the transitions from the ground state 3p5 (J = 3/2) to fine-structure levels of excited states 3p4 4 s, 3p4 4 p , 3p4 5 s, 3p4 5 p, 3p4 3 d and 3p4 4 d. Polarization of the radiation following the excitation has been calculated using the obtained magnetic sub-level cross-sections. Comparison of the present rate-coefficients is also done with the previously reported theoretical results for some unresolved fine structure transitions. Work is supported by DAE-BRNS Mumbai and CSIR, New Delhi.

Excited-state dynamics of mononucleotides and DNA strands in a deep eutectic solvent.

PubMed

Zhang, Yuyuan; de La Harpe, Kimberly; Hariharan, Mahesh; Kohler, Bern

2018-04-17

The photophysics of several mono- and oligonucleotides were investigated in a deep eutectic solvent for the first time. The solvent glyceline, prepared as a 1 : 2 mole ratio mixture of choline chloride and glycerol, was used to study excited-state deactivation in a non-aqueous solvent by the use of steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy. DNA strands in glyceline retain the secondary structures that are present in aqueous solution to some degree, thus enabling a study of the effects of solvent properties on the excited states of stacked bases and stacked base pairs. The excited-state lifetime of the mononucleotide 5'-AMP in glyceline is 630 fs, or twice as long as in aqueous solution. Even slower relaxation is seen for 5'-TMP in glyceline, and a possible triplet state with a lifetime greater than 3 ns is observed. Circular dichroism spectra show that the single strand (dA)18 and the duplex d(AT)9·d(AT)9 adopt similar structures in glyceline and in aqueous solution. Despite having similar conformations in both solvents, femtosecond transient absorption experiments reveal striking changes in the dynamics. Excited-state decay and vibrational cooling generally take place more slowly in glyceline than in water. Additionally, the fraction of long-lived excited states in both oligonucleotide systems is lower in glyceline than in aqueous solution. For a DNA duplex, water is suggested to favor decay pathways involving intrastrand charge separation, while the deep eutectic solvent favors interstrand deactivation channels involving neutral species. Slower solvation dynamics in the viscous deep eutectic solvent may also play a role. These results demonstrate that the dynamics of excitations in stacked bases and stacked base pairs depend not only on conformation, but are also highly sensitive to the solvent.

Experimental and theoretical investigation of the molecular, electronic structure and solvatochromism of phenyl salicylate: External electric field effect on the electronic structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sıdır, İsa; Sıdır, Yadigar Gülseven

2017-11-01

The UV-vis absorption and steady state fluorescence spectra of phenyl salicylate (abbreviated as PS) have been recorded in a series of non-polar, polar protic and polar aprotic solvents at room temperature and the obtained spectral data are used to determine the solvatochromic behavior and the ground and excited state dipole moments. Basis set sensitive molecular structure along with X-ray crystal data are evaluated. The ground state and excited state dipole moments are determined by using Lippert-Mataga, Bakhshiev, Bilot-Kawski and Reichardt solvatochromic shift methods as a function of dielectric constant (ε) and refractive index (n) of the solvents. The larger excited state dipole moment value indicates the more polar PS in the excited state. The rate of μe/μg is found as 2.4239. Solvatochromic behavior of PS is enlightened by using Kamlet-Taft and Catalan models. Kamlet-Taft solvatochromic model indicates that non-specific solute solvent interactions are controlled by solvent dispersion-induction forces and specific interactions are directed by hydrogen-bond donor capacity of solvent. Catalan solvatochromic model designates that solute-solvent interactions are governed by solvent polarizability. Ground and excited state dipole moments are found theoretically by using DFT/B3LYP/6-311++G(d, p) and TDDFT/B3LYP/6-31++G(d, p) methods. External electric field effect on LUMO-HOMO band gap and dipole moment have been investigated by using B3LYP/6-311++G(d, p) method.

Search for the 73Ga ground-state doublet splitting in the β decay of 73Zn

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vedia, V.; Paziy, V.; Fraile, L. M.; Mach, H.; Walters, W. B.; Aprahamian, A.; Bernards, C.; Briz, J. A.; Bucher, B.; Chiara, C. J.; Dlouhý, Z.; Gheorghe, I.; GhiÅ£ǎ, D.; Hoff, P.; Jolie, J.; Köster, U.; Kurcewicz, W.; Licǎ, R.; Mǎrginean, N.; Mǎrginean, R.; Olaizola, B.; Régis, J.-M.; Rudigier, M.; Sava, T.; Simpson, G. S.; Stǎnoiu, M.; Stroe, L.

2017-09-01

The existence of two close-lying nuclear states in 73Ga has recently been experimentally determined: a 1 /2- spin-parity for the ground state was measured in a laser spectroscopy experiment, while a Jπ=3 /2- level was observed in transfer reactions. This scenario is supported by Coulomb excitation studies, which set a limit for the energy splitting of 0.8 keV. In this work, we report on the study of the excited structure of 73Ga populated in the β decay of 73Zn produced at ISOLDE, CERN. Using β -gated, γ -ray singles, and γ -γ coincidences, we have searched for energy differences to try to delimit the ground-state energy splitting, providing a more stringent energy difference limit. Three new half-lives of excited states in 73Ga have been measured using the fast-timing method with LaBr3(Ce) detectors. From our study, we help clarify the excited structure of 73Ga and we extend the existing 73Zn decay to 73Ga with 8 new energy levels and 35 γ transitions. We observe a 195-keV transition consistent with a γ ray de-exciting a short-lived state in the β -decay parent 73Zn.

Structures of invisible, excited protein states by relaxation dispersion NMR spectroscopy

PubMed Central

Vallurupalli, Pramodh; Hansen, D. Flemming; Kay, Lewis E.

2008-01-01

Molecular function is often predicated on excursions between ground states and higher energy conformers that can play important roles in ligand binding, molecular recognition, enzyme catalysis, and protein folding. The tools of structural biology enable a detailed characterization of ground state structure and dynamics; however, studies of excited state conformations are more difficult because they are of low population and may exist only transiently. Here we describe an approach based on relaxation dispersion NMR spectroscopy in which structures of invisible, excited states are obtained from chemical shifts and residual anisotropic magnetic interactions. To establish the utility of the approach, we studied an exchanging protein (Abp1p SH3 domain)–ligand (Ark1p peptide) system, in which the peptide is added in only small amounts so that the ligand-bound form is invisible. From a collection of 15N, 1HN, 13Cα, and 13CO chemical shifts, along with 1HN-15N, 1Hα-13Cα, and 1HN-13CO residual dipolar couplings and 13CO residual chemical shift anisotropies, all pertaining to the invisible, bound conformer, the structure of the bound state is determined. The structure so obtained is cross-validated by comparison with 1HN-15N residual dipolar couplings recorded in a second alignment medium. The methodology described opens up the possibility for detailed structural studies of invisible protein conformers at a level of detail that has heretofore been restricted to applications involving visible ground states of proteins. PMID:18701719

Vibrational structure of the S 2 (1B u) excited state of diphenyloctatetraene observed by femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kukura, Philipp; McCamant, David W.; Davis, Paul H.; Mathies, Richard A.

2003-11-01

Femtosecond time-resolved stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS) is used to study the vibrational structure and dynamics of the S 2 state of diphenyloctatetraene. Strong vibrational features at 1184, 1259 and 1578 cm -1 whose linewidths are determined by the S 2 electronic lifetime are observed at early times after photoexcitation at 397 nm. Kinetic analysis of the integrated Raman intensities as well as the transient absorption reveals an exponential decay of the S 2 state on the order of 100 fs. These results demonstrate the ability of FSRS to study the vibrational structure of excited state and chemical reaction dynamics on the femtosecond timescale.

Effect of Electronic Excitation on Hydrogen Atom Transfer (Tautomerization) Reactions for the DNA Base Adenine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chaban, Galina M.; Salter, Latasha M.; Kwak, Dochan (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Geometrical structures and energetic properties for four different tautomers of adenine are calculated in this study, using multi-configurational wave functions. Both the ground and the lowest single excited state potential energy surface are studied. The energetic order of the tautomers on the ground state potential surface is 9H less than 7H less than 3H less than 1H, while on the excited state surface this order is found to be different: 3H less than 1H less than 9H less than 7H. Minimum energy reaction paths are obtained for hydrogen atom transfer (9 yields 3 tautomerization) reactions in the ground and the lowest excited electronic state. It is found that the barrier heights and the shapes of the reaction paths are different for the ground and the excited electronic state, suggesting that the probability of such tautomerization reaction is higher on the excited state potential energy surface. The barrier for this reaction in the excited state may become very low in the presence of water or other polar solvent molecules, and therefore such tautomerization reaction may play an important role in the solution phase photochemistry of adenine.

Ab initio study of excited state electronic circular dichroism. Two prototype cases: methyl oxirane and R-(+)-1,1'-bi(2-naphthol).

PubMed

Rizzo, Antonio; Vahtras, Olav

2011-06-28

A computational approach to the calculation of excited state electronic circular dichroism (ESECD) spectra of chiral molecules is discussed. Frequency dependent quadratic response theory is employed to compute the rotatory strength for transitions between excited electronic states, by employing both a magnetic gauge dependent and a (velocity-based) magnetic gauge independent approach. Application is made to the lowest excited states of two prototypical chiral molecules, propylene oxide, also known as 1,2-epoxypropane or methyl oxirane, and R-(+)-1,1'-bi(2-naphthol), or BINOL. The dependence of the rotatory strength for transitions between the lowest three excited states of methyl oxirane upon the quality and extension of the basis set is analyzed, by employing a hierarchy of correlation consistent basis sets. Once established that basis sets of at least triple zeta quality, and at least doubly augmented, are sufficient to ensure sufficiently converged results, at least at the Hartree-Fock self-consistent field (HF-SCF) level, the rotatory strengths for all transitions between the lowest excited electronic states of methyl oxirane are computed and analyzed, employing HF-SCF, and density functional theory (DFT) electronic structure models. For DFT, both the popular B3LYP and its recently highly successful CAM-B3LYP extension are exploited. The strong dependence of the spectra upon electron correlation is highlighted. A HF-SCF and DFT study is carried out also for BINOL, a system where excited states show the typical pairing structure arising from the interaction of the two monomeric moieties, and whose conformational changes following photoexcitation were studied recently with via time-resolved CD.

ULTRAFAST CHEMISTRY: Using Time-Resolved Vibrational Spectroscopy for Interrogation of Structural Dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nibbering, Erik T. J.; Fidder, Henk; Pines, Ehud

2005-05-01

Time-resolved infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopy elucidates molecular structure evolution during ultrafast chemical reactions. Following vibrational marker modes in real time provides direct insight into the structural dynamics, as is evidenced in studies on intramolecular hydrogen transfer, bimolecular proton transfer, electron transfer, hydrogen bonding during solvation dynamics, bond fission in organometallic compounds and heme proteins, cis-trans isomerization in retinal proteins, and transformations in photochromic switch pairs. Femtosecond IR spectroscopy monitors the site-specific interactions in hydrogen bonds. Conversion between excited electronic states can be followed for intramolecular electron transfer by inspection of the fingerprint IR- or Raman-active vibrations in conjunction with quantum chemical calculations. Excess internal vibrational energy, generated either by optical excitation or by internal conversion from the electronic excited state to the ground state, is observable through transient frequency shifts of IR-active vibrations and through nonequilibrium populations as deduced by Raman resonances.

Two-Component Structure in the Entanglement Spectrum of Highly Excited States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Zhi-Cheng; Chamon, Claudio; Hamma, Alioscia; Mucciolo, Eduardo R.

2015-12-01

We study the entanglement spectrum of highly excited eigenstates of two known models that exhibit a many-body localization transition, namely the one-dimensional random-field Heisenberg model and the quantum random energy model. Our results indicate that the entanglement spectrum shows a "two-component" structure: a universal part that is associated with random matrix theory, and a nonuniversal part that is model dependent. The nonuniversal part manifests the deviation of the highly excited eigenstate from a true random state even in the thermalized phase where the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis holds. The fraction of the spectrum containing the universal part decreases as one approaches the critical point and vanishes in the localized phase in the thermodynamic limit. We use the universal part fraction to construct an order parameter for measuring the degree of randomness of a generic highly excited state, which is also a promising candidate for studying the many-body localization transition. Two toy models based on Rokhsar-Kivelson type wave functions are constructed and their entanglement spectra are shown to exhibit the same structure.

An excited state underlies gene regulation of a transcriptional riboswitch

PubMed Central

Zhao, Bo; Guffy, Sharon L.; Williams, Benfeard; Zhang, Qi

2017-01-01

Riboswitches control gene expression through ligand-dependent structural rearrangements of the sensing aptamer domain. However, we found that the Bacillus cereus fluoride riboswitch aptamer adopts identical tertiary structures in solution with and without ligand. Using chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) NMR spectroscopy, we revealed that the structured ligand-free aptamer transiently accesses a low-populated (~1%) and short-lived (~3 ms) excited conformational state that unravels a conserved ‘linchpin’ base pair to signal transcription termination. Upon fluoride binding, this highly localized fleeting process is allosterically suppressed to activate transcription. We demonstrated that this mechanism confers effective fluoride-dependent gene activation over a wide range of transcription rates, which is essential for robust toxicity response across diverse cellular conditions. These results unveil a novel switching mechanism that employs ligand-dependent suppression of an aptamer excited state to coordinate regulatory conformational transitions rather than adopting distinct aptamer ground-state tertiary architectures, exemplifying a new mode of ligand-dependent RNA regulation. PMID:28719589

Fine-structure-resolution for Rovibrational Excitation of CN Due to H2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Byrd, Nat; Yang, Benhui H.; Stancil, Phillip C.

2018-06-01

Diatomic molecules can be readily excited in interstellar environments exposed to intense UV radiation, such as the inner rim of a protoplanetary disk. Non-thermal populations of excited rovibrational levels can result, for example, following decay from electronically excited states to the electronic ground state. Competition between radiative decay and collisional processes, mostly due to H2, determine the resulting rovibrational emission spectrum. For CN, and other open-shell molecules, the resulting spectrum will be complicated due to fine-structure splitting of the rotational levels. In some cases, fine-structure resolution has been previously computed for rotational transitions in atom- or diatom-diatom collisional processes. Here we present the first fine-structure resolution for vibrational deexcitation for CN colliding with H2. The collisional cross sections were computed using a 6D potential energy surface with a full close-coupling approach. Fine-structure resolution is obtained by adopting an angular momentum recoupling scheme to transform the scattering matrices to a recoupled basis. Here we present low-energy calculations for the v=1 to 0 transition.This work was supported by NASA Grant NNX16AF09G.

Models of charge pair generation in organic solar cells.

PubMed

Few, Sheridan; Frost, Jarvist M; Nelson, Jenny

2015-01-28

Efficient charge pair generation is observed in many organic photovoltaic (OPV) heterojunctions, despite nominal electron-hole binding energies which greatly exceed the average thermal energy. Empirically, the efficiency of this process appears to be related to the choice of donor and acceptor materials, the resulting sequence of excited state energy levels and the structure of the interface. In order to establish a suitable physical model for the process, a range of different theoretical studies have addressed the nature and energies of the interfacial states, the energetic profile close to the heterojunction and the dynamics of excited state transitions. In this paper, we review recent developments underpinning the theory of charge pair generation and phenomena, focussing on electronic structure calculations, electrostatic models and approaches to excited state dynamics. We discuss the remaining challenges in achieving a predictive approach to charge generation efficiency.

Tautomeric selectivity of the excited-state lifetime of guanine/cytosine base pairs: The role of electron-driven proton-transfer processes

PubMed Central

Sobolewski, Andrzej L.; Domcke, Wolfgang; Hättig, C.

2005-01-01

The UV spectra of three different conformers of the guanine/cytosine base pair were recorded recently with UV-IR double-resonance techniques in a supersonic jet [Abo-Riziq, A., Grace, L., Nir, E., Kabelac, M., Hobza, P. & de Vries, M. S. (2005) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102, 20–23]. The spectra provide evidence for a very efficient excited-state deactivation mechanism that is specific for the Watson–Crick structure and may be essential for the photostability of DNA. Here we report results of ab initio electronic-structure calculations for the excited electronic states of the three lowest-energy conformers of the guanine/cytosine base pair. The calculations reveal that electron-driven interbase proton-transfer processes play an important role in the photochemistry of these systems. The exceptionally short lifetime of the UV-absorbing states of the Watson–Crick conformer is tentatively explained by the existence of a barrierless reaction path that connects the spectroscopic 1π π * excited state with the electronic ground state via two electronic curve crossings. For the non-Watson–Crick structures, the photochemically reactive state is located at higher energies, resulting in a barrier for proton transfer and, thus, a longer lifetime of the UV-absorbing 1π π * state. The computational results support the conjecture that the photochemistry of hydrogen bonds plays a decisive role for the photostability of the molecular encoding of the genetic information in isolated DNA base pairs. PMID:16330778

Efficient Predictions of Excited State for Nanomaterials Using Aces 3 and 4

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-12-20

by first-principle methods in the software package ACES by using large parallel computers, growing tothe exascale. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Computer...modeling, excited states, optical properties, structure, stability, activation barriers first principle methods , parallel computing 16. SECURITY...2 Progress with new density functional methods

Multi-quasiparticle excitations in 145Tb

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Y.; Zhou, X. H.; Zhang, Y. H.; Hayakawa, T.; Oshima, M.; Toh, Y.; Shizuma, T.; Katakura, J.; Hatsukawa, Y.; Matsuda, M.; Kusakari, H.; Sugawara, M.; Furuno, K.; Komatsubara, T.

2004-04-01

High-spin states in 145Tb have been investigated by means of in-beam ggr-ray spectroscopy techniques with the 118Sn(32S, 1p4n) reaction. Excitation functions, X-ggr-t and ggr-ggr-t coincidences and ggr-ray anisotropies were measured. A level scheme of 145Tb was established up to Exap 7 MeV. The level structure shows characteristics of a spherical nucleus. Based on the systematics of level structure in the odd-A N = 80 isotones, the level structure below 2 MeV excitation is interpreted by coupling an h11/2 proton to the excitations in the even-even 144Gd core. Above 2 MeV excitation, most of the yrast levels are interpreted with multi-quasiparticle shell-model configurations.

Solvent control of charge transfer excited state relaxation pathways in [Fe(2,2'-bipyridine)(CN) 4] 2-

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kjær, Kasper S.; Kunnus, Kristjan; Harlang, Tobias C. B.

The excited state dynamics of solvated [Fe(bpy)(CN) 4] 2-, where bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine, show significant sensitivity to the solvent Lewis acidity. Using a combination of optical absorption and X-ray emission transient spectroscopies, we have previously shown that the metal to ligand charge transfer (MLCT) excited state of [Fe(bpy)(CN) 4] 2- has a 19 picosecond lifetime and no discernable contribution from metal centered (MC) states in weak Lewis acid solvents, such as dimethyl sulfoxide and acetonitrile. Here, in the present work, we use the same combination of spectroscopic techniques to measure the MLCT excited state relaxation dynamics of [Fe(bpy)(CN) 4] 2-more » in water, a strong Lewis acid solvent. The charge-transfer excited state is now found to decay in less than 100 femtoseconds, forming a quasi-stable metal centered excited state with a 13 picosecond lifetime. We find that this MC excited state has triplet ( 3MC) character, unlike other reported six-coordinate Fe(II)-centered coordination compounds, which form MC quintet ( 5MC) states. The solvent dependent changes in excited state non-radiative relaxation for [Fe(bpy)(CN) 4] 2- allows us to infer the influence of the solvent on the electronic structure of the complex. Lastly, the robust characterization of the dynamics and optical spectral signatures of the isolated 3MC intermediate provides a strong foundation for identifying 3MC intermediates in the electronic excited state relaxation mechanisms of similar Fe-centered systems being developed for solar applications.« less

Solvent control of charge transfer excited state relaxation pathways in [Fe(2,2'-bipyridine)(CN) 4] 2-

DOE PAGES

Kjær, Kasper S.; Kunnus, Kristjan; Harlang, Tobias C. B.; ...

2018-01-19

The excited state dynamics of solvated [Fe(bpy)(CN) 4] 2-, where bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine, show significant sensitivity to the solvent Lewis acidity. Using a combination of optical absorption and X-ray emission transient spectroscopies, we have previously shown that the metal to ligand charge transfer (MLCT) excited state of [Fe(bpy)(CN) 4] 2- has a 19 picosecond lifetime and no discernable contribution from metal centered (MC) states in weak Lewis acid solvents, such as dimethyl sulfoxide and acetonitrile. Here, in the present work, we use the same combination of spectroscopic techniques to measure the MLCT excited state relaxation dynamics of [Fe(bpy)(CN) 4] 2-more » in water, a strong Lewis acid solvent. The charge-transfer excited state is now found to decay in less than 100 femtoseconds, forming a quasi-stable metal centered excited state with a 13 picosecond lifetime. We find that this MC excited state has triplet ( 3MC) character, unlike other reported six-coordinate Fe(II)-centered coordination compounds, which form MC quintet ( 5MC) states. The solvent dependent changes in excited state non-radiative relaxation for [Fe(bpy)(CN) 4] 2- allows us to infer the influence of the solvent on the electronic structure of the complex. Lastly, the robust characterization of the dynamics and optical spectral signatures of the isolated 3MC intermediate provides a strong foundation for identifying 3MC intermediates in the electronic excited state relaxation mechanisms of similar Fe-centered systems being developed for solar applications.« less

Ultrafast Excited-State Dynamics of Cytosine Aza-Derivative and Analogues.

PubMed

Zhou, Zhongneng; Zhou, Xueyao; Wang, Xueli; Jiang, Bin; Li, Yongle; Chen, Jinquan; Xu, Jianhua

2017-04-13

Excited state dynamics of 5-azacytosine (5-AC), 2,4-diamino-1,3,5-triazine (2,4-DT), and 2-amino-1,3,5-triazine (2-AT) were comprehensively investigated by steady state absorption, fluorescence, and femtosecond transient absorption measurements. Time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations were performed to help assign the absorption bands and understand the excited state decay mechanisms. The experimental results of excited singlet state dynamics for 5-AC, 2,4-DT, and 2-AT with femtosecond time resolution were reported for the first time. Two distinct decay pathways, with ∼1 ps and tens of picosecond lifetimes, were observed in 5-AC. Only one decay pathway with 17 ps lifetime was observed in 2,4-DT while an emissive state was found in 2-AT. TDDFT calculations suggest that 5-AC has a dark nπ* (S 1 ) state below the first allowed ππ* (S 2 ) state, which leads to the ultrafast decay of the ππ* state. In 2,4-DT, there is no dark nπ* state below the bright ππ* (S 1 ) state and the 17 ps lifetime is assigned to the relaxation from the ππ* (S 1 ) state to ground state. Two dark nπ* states (S 1 and S 2 ) were found in 2-AT, which exhibits much more complex excited state dynamics compared with the other two. Photoluminescence in 2-AT has been confirmed to be fluorescence emission from its bright ππ* (S 3 ) state. Our results strongly suggest that electronic structures are very sensitive to the substitution on the triazine ring and that the photophysical properties of nucleic acid analogues depend highly on their molecular structures.

Patterns in the bubble-free Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction dissolved in a microemulsion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dähmlow, P.; Almeida, J.; Müller, S. C.

2016-12-01

A newly created system, namely a bubble-free Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction embedded in a microemulsion is experimentally studied, with 1,4-cyclohexanedione used as substrate. Initially, this system shows oscillations or waves. After some minutes, waves do not form a refractory state in their wake, but the system remains excited. However, within this excited regime, a new wave emerges directly behind the initial one, causing an acceleration of the latter. The excited state lasts for several minutes. Subsequently, three different types of patterns emerge, depending on the initial chemical concentrations: wave turbulence, transient lines (TL) and an intermediate state. TL are neither Turing structures nor excitation waves. The intermediate state is a mixed pattern of TL and wave turbulence.

On the properties of microsolvated molecules in the ground (S0) and excited (S1) states: The anisole-ammonia 1:1 complex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biczysko, Malgorzata; Piani, Giovanni; Pasquini, Massimiliano; Schiccheri, Nicola; Pietraperzia, Giangaetano; Becucci, Maurizio; Pavone, Michele; Barone, Vincenzo

2007-10-01

State-of-the-art spectroscopic and theoretical methods have been exploited in a joint effort to elucidate the subtle features of the structure and the energetics of the anisole-ammonia 1:1 complex, a prototype of microsolvation processes. Resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization and laser-induced fluorescence spectra are discussed and compared to high-level first-principles theoretical models, based on density functional, many body second order perturbation, and coupled cluster theories. In the most stable nonplanar structure of the complex, the ammonia interacts with the delocalized π electron density of the anisole ring: hydrogen bonding and dispersive forces provide a comparable stabilization energy in the ground state, whereas in the excited state the dispersion term is negligible because of electron density transfer from the oxygen to the aromatic ring. Ground and excited state geometrical parameters deduced from experimental data and computed by quantum mechanical methods are in very good agreement and allow us to unambiguously determine the molecular structure of the anisole-ammonia complex.

Thermality and excited state Rényi entropy in two-dimensional CFT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Feng-Li; Wang, Huajia; Zhang, Jia-ju

2016-11-01

We evaluate one-interval Rényi entropy and entanglement entropy for the excited states of two-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT) on a cylinder, and examine their differences from the ones for the thermal state. We assume the interval to be short so that we can use operator product expansion (OPE) of twist operators to calculate Rényi entropy in terms of sum of one-point functions of OPE blocks. We find that the entanglement entropy for highly excited state and thermal state behave the same way after appropriate identification of the conformal weight of the state with the temperature. However, there exists no such universal identification for the Rényi entropy in the short-interval expansion. Therefore, the highly excited state does not look thermal when comparing its Rényi entropy to the thermal state one. As the Rényi entropy captures the higher moments of the reduced density matrix but the entanglement entropy only the average, our results imply that the emergence of thermality depends on how refined we look into the entanglement structure of the underlying pure excited state.

Laser photoelectron spectroscopy of MnH - and FeH - : Electronic structures of the metal hydrides, identification of a low-spin excited state of MnH, and evidence for a low-spin ground state of FeH

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stevens, Amy E.; Feigerle, C. S.; Lineberger, W. C.

1983-05-01

The laser photoelectron spectra of MnH- and MnD-, and FeH- and FeD- are reported. A qualitative description of the electronic structure of the low-spin and high-spin states of the metal hydrides is developed, and used to interpret the spectra. A diagonal transition in the photodetachment to the known high-spin, 7Σ+, ground state of MnH is observed. An intense off-diagonal transition to a state of MnH, at 1725±50 cm-1 excitation energy, is attributed to loss of an antibonding electron from MnH-, to yield a low-spin quintet state of MnH. For FeH- the photodetachment to the ground state is an off-diagonal transition, attributed to loss of the antibonding electron from FeH-, to yield a low-spin quartet ground state of FeH. A diagonal transition results in an FeH state at 1945±55 cm-1; this state of FeH is assigned as the lowest-lying high-spin sextet state of FeH. An additional excited state of MnH and two other excited states of FeH are observed. Excitation energies for all the states are reported; vibrational frequencies and bond lengths for the ions and several states of the neutrals are also determined from the spectra. The electron affinity of MnH is found to be 0.869±0.010 eV; and the electron affinity of FeH is determined to be 0.934±0.011 eV. Spectroscopic constants for the various deuterides are also reported.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shi, Jade; Nobrega, R. Paul; Schwantes, Christian

The dynamics of globular proteins can be described in terms of transitions between a folded native state and less-populated intermediates, or excited states, which can play critical roles in both protein folding and function. Excited states are by definition transient species, and therefore are difficult to characterize using current experimental techniques. We report an atomistic model of the excited state ensemble of a stabilized mutant of an extensively studied flavodoxin fold protein CheY. We employed a hybrid simulation and experimental approach in which an aggregate 42 milliseconds of all-atom molecular dynamics were used as an informative prior for the structuremore » of the excited state ensemble. The resulting prior was then refined against small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data employing an established method (EROS). The most striking feature of the resulting excited state ensemble was an unstructured N-terminus stabilized by non-native contacts in a conformation that is topologically simpler than the native state. We then predict incisive single molecule FRET experiments, using these results, as a means of model validation. Our study demonstrates the paradigm of uniting simulation and experiment in a statistical model to study the structure of protein excited states and rationally design validating experiments.« less

New measurements of the lifetimes of excited states of {sup 55}Mn below 2.7 MeV

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Caggiano, J. A.; Warren, G. A.; Hasty, R. D.

The lifetimes of the excited states of {sup 55}Mn between 1.5 and 2.7 MeV were measured using nuclear resonance fluorescence. The absolute lifetimes of the excited levels were determined from simultaneous measurements of manganese and aluminum. In this approach, the precisely known aluminum state serves as a means to normalize the results. Our findings differ from the evaluated level lifetimes in the Evaluated Nuclear Structure Data File (ENSDF), but agree with earlier nuclear resonance fluorescence measurements.

Minima in generalized oscillator strengths for initially excited hydrogen-like atoms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Matsuzawa, M.; Omidvar, K.; Inokuti, M.

1976-01-01

Generalized oscillator strengths for transitions from an initially excited state of a hydrogenic atom to final states (either discrete or continuum) have complicated structures, including minima and shoulders, as functions of the momentum transfer. Extensive calculations carried out in the present work have revealed certain systematics of these structures. Some implications of the minima to the energy dependence of the inner-shell ionization cross section of heavy atoms by proton impact are discussed.

Jet-resolved vibronic structure in the higher excited states of N2O - Ultraviolet three-photon absorption spectroscopy from 80,000 to 90,000/cm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patsilinakou, E.; Wiedmann, R. T.; Fotakis, C.; Grant, E. R.

1989-01-01

Ionization-detected UV multiphoton absorption spectroscopy of the excited states of N2O is presented, showing Rydberg structure within 20,000/cm of the first ionization threshold. Despite evidence for strong Rydberg-continuum coupling in the form of broadened bands and Fano line-shapes, the Rydberg structure persists, with atomic-like quantum defects and vibration structure well-matched with that of the ion. In the most clearly resolved spectrum, corresponding to the 3p(delta)1Pi state, Renner-Teller and Herzberg-Teller coupling of electronic and vibrational angular momentum are revealed. It is suggested that these mixings are properties of the N2O(+)Pi ion core.

Lifetimes of excited states in 196, 198Pt; Application of interacting boson approximation model to even Pt isotopes systematics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bolotin, H. H.; Stuchbery, A. E.; Morrison, I.; Kennedy, D. L.; Ryan, C. G.; Sie, S. H.

1981-11-01

The lifetimes and lifetime limits of the low-lying excited states up to and including the 6 1+ levels in 196, 198Pt were determined by the recoil-distance method (RDM). Gamma-ray angular distributions in 198Pt were also measured. These states were populated by multiple Coulomb excitation using 220 MeV 58Ni ion beams and the measurements were carried out in coincidence with back-scattered projectiles. The measured mean lives of the states and B(E2) values inferred for the transitions between levels are presented. These specific findings, and the observed structure systematics obtained from the combination of the present results and those of prior workers for the even 194-198Pt isotopes, are critically compared with our structure calculations employing the interacting boson approximation (IBA) model incorporating a symmetry-breaking quadrupole force; evaluative comparisons are also made with boson expansion theory (BET) calculations.

Hydrogen bond strengthening between o-nitroaniline and formaldehyde in electronic excited states: A theoretical study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Juan; Li, An Yong

2018-06-01

To study the hydrogen bonds upon photoexcited, the time dependent density function method (TD DFT) was performed to investigate the excited state hydrogen bond properties of between o-nitroaniline (ONA) and formaldehyde (CH2O). The optimized structures of the complex and the monomers both in the ground state and the electronically excited states are calculated using DFT and TD DFT method respectively. Quantum chemical calculations of the electronic and vibrational absorption spectra are also carried out by TD DFT method at the different level. The complex ONA⋯CH2O forms the intramolecular hydrogen bond and intermolecular hydrogen bonds. Since the strength of hydrogen bonds can be measured by studying the vibrational absorption spectra of the characteristic groups on the hydrogen bonding acceptor and donor, it evidently confirms that the hydrogen bonds is strengthened in the S1/S2/T1 excited states upon photoexcitation. As a result, the hydrogen bonds cause that the CH stretch frequency of the proton donor CH2O has a blue shift, and the electron excitations leads to a frequency red shift of Ndbnd O and Nsbnd H stretch modes in the o-nitroaniline(ONA) and a small frequency blue shift of CH stretch mode in the formaldehyde(CH2O) in the S1 and S2 excited states. The excited states S1, S2 and T1 are locally excited states where only the ONA moiety is excited, but the CH2O moiety remains in its ground state.

Nuclear states with anomalously large radius (size isomers)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ogloblin, A. A.; Demyanova, A. S., E-mail: a.s.demyanova@bk.ru; Danilov, A. N.

2016-07-15

Methods of determination of the nuclear excited state radii are discussed together with the recently obtained data on the states of some light nuclei having abnormally large radii (size isomers). It is shown that such states include excited neutron-halo states in {sup 9}Be, {sup 11}Be, and {sup 13}C and some alpha-cluster states in {sup 12}C, {sup 11}B, and {sup 13}C. Among the latter ones, there is the well-known Hoyle state in {sup 12}C—the structure of this state exhibit rudimentary features of alpha-particle states.

Polarization spectroscopy of positive and negative trions in an InAs quantum dot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ware, Morgan E.; Bracker, Allan S.; Stinaff, Eric; Gammon, Daniel; Gershoni, David; Korenev, Vladimir L.

2005-02-01

Using polarization-sensitive photoluminescence and photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy, we study single InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots. The dots were embedded in an n-type, Schottky diode structure allowing for control of the charge state. We present here the exciton, singly charged exciton (positive and negative trions), and the twice negatively charged exciton. For non-resonant excitation below the wetting layer, we observed a large degree of polarization memory from the radiative recombination of both the positive and negative trions. In excitation spectra, through the p-shell, we have found several sharp resonances in the emission from the s-shell recombination of the dot in all charged states. Some of these excitation resonances exhibit strong coulomb shifts upon addition of charges into the quantum dot. One particular resonance of the negatively charged trion was found to exhibit a fine structure doublet under circular polarization. This observation is explained in terms of resonant absorption into the triplet states of the negative trion.

Time-resolved x-ray absorption spectroscopy: Watching atoms dance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milne, Chris J.; Pham, Van-Thai; Gawelda, Wojciech; van der Veen, Renske M.; El Nahhas, Amal; Johnson, Steven L.; Beaud, Paul; Ingold, Gerhard; Lima, Frederico; Vithanage, Dimali A.; Benfatto, Maurizio; Grolimund, Daniel; Borca, Camelia; Kaiser, Maik; Hauser, Andreas; Abela, Rafael; Bressler, Christian; Chergui, Majed

2009-11-01

The introduction of pump-probe techniques to the field of x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) has allowed the monitoring of both structural and electronic dynamics of disordered systems in the condensed phase with unprecedented accuracy, both in time and in space. We present results on the electronically excited high-spin state structure of an Fe(II) molecular species, [FeII(bpy)3]2+, in aqueous solution, resolving the Fe-N bond distance elongation as 0.2 Å. In addition an analysis technique using the reduced χ2 goodness of fit between FEFF EXAFS simulations and the experimental transient absorption signal in energy space has been successfully tested as a function of excited state population and chemical shift, demonstrating its applicability in situations where the fractional excited state population cannot be determined through other measurements. Finally by using a novel ultrafast hard x-ray 'slicing' source the question of how the molecule relaxes after optical excitation has been successfully resolved using femtosecond XANES.

Theoretical interpretation of the nuclear structure of 88Se within the ACM and the QPM models.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gratchev, I. N.; Thiamova, G.; Alexa, P.; Simpson, G. S.; Ramdhane, M.

2018-02-01

The four-parameter algebraic collective model (ACM) Hamiltonian is used to describe the nuclear structure of 88Se. It is shown that the ACM is capable of providing a reasonable description of the excitation energies and relative positions of the ground-state band and γ band. The most probable interpretation of the nuclear structure of 88Se is that of a transitional nucleus. The Quasiparticle-plus-Phonon Model (QPM) was also applied to describe the nuclear motion in 88Se. Preliminarily calculations show that the collectivity of second excited state {2}2+ is weak and that this state contains a strong two-quasiparticle component.

Spectroscopic and Computational Investigations of a Mononuclear Manganese(IV)-Oxo Complex Reveal Electronic Structure Contributions to Reactivity

DOE PAGES

Leto, Domenick F.; Massie, Allyssa A.; Rice, Derek B.; ...

2016-11-01

The mononuclear Mn(IV)-oxo complex [Mn IV(O)(N4py)] 2+, where N4py is the pentadentate ligand N,N-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-N-bis(2-pyridyl)methylamine, we propose to attack C–H bonds by an excited-state reactivity pattern [Cho, K.-B.; Shaik, S.; Nam, W. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2012, 3, 2851-2856 (DOI: 10.1021/jz301241z)]. In this model, a 4E excited state is utilized to provide a lower-energy barrier for hydrogen-atom transfer. This proposal is intriguing, as it offers both a rationale for the relatively high hydrogen-atom-transfer reactivity of [Mn IV(O)(N4py)] 2+ and a guideline for creating more reactive complexes through ligand modification. Here we employ a combination of electronic absorption and variable-temperature magnetic circularmore » dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy to experimentally evaluate this excited-state reactivity model. Using these spectroscopic methods, in conjunction with time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) and complete-active space self-consistent-field calculations (CASSCF), we define the ligand-field and charge-transfer excited states of [MnIV(O)(N4py)]2+. Through a graphical analysis of the signs of the experimental C-term MCD signals, we unambiguously assign a low-energy MCD feature of [Mn IV(O)(N4py)] 2+ as the 4E excited state predicted to be involved in hydrogen-atom-transfer reactivity. The CASSCF calculations predict enhanced Mn III-oxyl character on the excited-state 4E surface, consistent with previous DFT calculations. Potential-energy surfaces, developed using the CASSCF methods, are used to determine how the energies and wave functions of the ground and excited states evolved as a function of Mn=O distance. Furthermore, the unique insights into ground- and excited-state electronic structure offered by these spectroscopic and computational studies are harmonized with a thermodynamic model of hydrogen-atom-transfer reactivity, which predicts a correlation between transition-state barriers and driving force« less

Spectroscopic and Computational Investigations of a Mononuclear Manganese(IV)-Oxo Complex Reveal Electronic Structure Contributions to Reactivity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Leto, Domenick F.; Massie, Allyssa A.; Rice, Derek B.

The mononuclear Mn(IV)-oxo complex [Mn IV(O)(N4py)] 2+, where N4py is the pentadentate ligand N,N-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-N-bis(2-pyridyl)methylamine, we propose to attack C–H bonds by an excited-state reactivity pattern [Cho, K.-B.; Shaik, S.; Nam, W. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2012, 3, 2851-2856 (DOI: 10.1021/jz301241z)]. In this model, a 4E excited state is utilized to provide a lower-energy barrier for hydrogen-atom transfer. This proposal is intriguing, as it offers both a rationale for the relatively high hydrogen-atom-transfer reactivity of [Mn IV(O)(N4py)] 2+ and a guideline for creating more reactive complexes through ligand modification. Here we employ a combination of electronic absorption and variable-temperature magnetic circularmore » dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy to experimentally evaluate this excited-state reactivity model. Using these spectroscopic methods, in conjunction with time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) and complete-active space self-consistent-field calculations (CASSCF), we define the ligand-field and charge-transfer excited states of [MnIV(O)(N4py)]2+. Through a graphical analysis of the signs of the experimental C-term MCD signals, we unambiguously assign a low-energy MCD feature of [Mn IV(O)(N4py)] 2+ as the 4E excited state predicted to be involved in hydrogen-atom-transfer reactivity. The CASSCF calculations predict enhanced Mn III-oxyl character on the excited-state 4E surface, consistent with previous DFT calculations. Potential-energy surfaces, developed using the CASSCF methods, are used to determine how the energies and wave functions of the ground and excited states evolved as a function of Mn=O distance. Furthermore, the unique insights into ground- and excited-state electronic structure offered by these spectroscopic and computational studies are harmonized with a thermodynamic model of hydrogen-atom-transfer reactivity, which predicts a correlation between transition-state barriers and driving force« less

Low-energy d-d excitations in MnO studied by resonant x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Butorin, S.M.; Guo, J.; Magnuson, M.

1997-04-01

Resonant soft X-ray emission spectroscopy has been demonstrated to possess interesting abilities for studies of electronic structure in various systems, such as symmetry probing, alignment and polarization dependence, sensitivity to channel interference, etc. In the present abstract the authors focus on the feasibility of resonant soft X-ray emission to probe low energy excitations by means of resonant electronic X-ray Raman scattering. Resonant X-ray emission can be regarded as an inelastic scattering process where a system in the ground state is transferred to a low excited state via a virtual core excitation. The energy closeness to a core excitation of themore » exciting radiation enhances the (generally) low probability for inelastic scattering at these wavelengths. Therefore soft X-ray emission spectroscopy (in resonant electronic Raman mode) can be used to study low energy d-d excitations in transition metal systems. The involvement of the intermediate core state allows one to use the selection rules of X-ray emission, and the appearance of the elastically scattered line in the spectra provides the reference to the ground state.« less

Electronic excitation induced amorphization in titanate pyrochlores: an ab initio molecular dynamics study

PubMed Central

Xiao, H. Y.; Weber, W. J.; Zhang, Y.; Zu, X. T.; Li, S.

2015-01-01

The response of titanate pyrochlores (A2Ti2O7, A = Y, Gd and Sm) to electronic excitation is investigated utilizing an ab initio molecular dynamics method. All the titanate pyrochlores are found to undergo a crystalline-to-amorphous structural transition under a low concentration of electronic excitations. The transition temperature at which structural amorphization starts to occur depends on the concentration of electronic excitations. During the structural transition, O2-like molecules are formed, and this anion disorder further drives cation disorder that leads to an amorphous state. This study provides new insights into the mechanisms of amorphization in titanate pyrochlores under laser, electron and ion irradiations. PMID:25660219

Electronic excitation induced amorphization in titanate pyrochlores: an ab initio molecular dynamics study.

PubMed

Xiao, H Y; Weber, W J; Zhang, Y; Zu, X T; Li, S

2015-02-09

The response of titanate pyrochlores (A2Ti2O7, A = Y, Gd and Sm) to electronic excitation is investigated utilizing an ab initio molecular dynamics method. All the titanate pyrochlores are found to undergo a crystalline-to-amorphous structural transition under a low concentration of electronic excitations. The transition temperature at which structural amorphization starts to occur depends on the concentration of electronic excitations. During the structural transition, O2-like molecules are formed, and this anion disorder further drives cation disorder that leads to an amorphous state. This study provides new insights into the mechanisms of amorphization in titanate pyrochlores under laser, electron and ion irradiations.

Structure-Property Relationships for Tailoring Phenoxazines as Reducing Photoredox Catalysts.

PubMed

McCarthy, Blaine G; Pearson, Ryan M; Lim, Chern-Hooi; Sartor, Steven M; Damrauer, Niels H; Miyake, Garret M

2018-04-18

Through the study of structure-property relationships using a combination of experimental and computational analyses, a number of phenoxazine derivatives have been developed as visible light absorbing, organic photoredox catalysts (PCs) with excited state reduction potentials rivaling those of highly reducing transition metal PCs. Time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) computational modeling of the photoexcitation of N-aryl and core modified phenoxazines guided the design of PCs with absorption profiles in the visible regime. In accordance with our previous work with N, N-diaryl dihydrophenazines, characterization of noncore modified N-aryl phenoxazines in the excited state demonstrated that the nature of the N-aryl substituent dictates the ability of the PC to access a charge transfer excited state. However, our current analysis of core modified phenoxazines revealed that these molecules can access a different type of CT excited state which we posit involves a core substituent as the electron acceptor. Modification of the core of phenoxazine derivatives with electron-donating and electron-withdrawing substituents was used to alter triplet energies, excited state reduction potentials, and oxidation potentials of the phenoxazine derivatives. The catalytic activity of these molecules was explored using organocatalyzed atom transfer radical polymerization (O-ATRP) for the synthesis of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) using white light irradiation. All of the derivatives were determined to be suitable PCs for O-ATRP as indicated by a linear growth of polymer molecular weight as a function of monomer conversion and the ability to synthesize PMMA with moderate to low dispersity (dispersity less than or equal to 1.5) and initiator efficiencies typically greater than 70% at high conversions. However, only PCs that exhibit strong absorption of visible light and strong triplet excited state reduction potentials maintain control over the polymerization during the entire course of the reaction. The structure-property relationships established here will enable the application of these organic PCs for O-ATRP and other photoredox-catalyzed small molecule and polymer syntheses.

Solvation and Spectral Line Shifts of Chromium Atoms in Helium Droplets Based on a Density Functional Theory Approach

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

The interaction of an electronically excited, single chromium (Cr) atom with superfluid helium nanodroplets of various size (10 to 2000 helium (He) atoms) is studied with helium density functional theory. Solvation energies and pseudo-diatomic potential energy surfaces are determined for Cr in its ground state as well as in the y7P, a5S, and y5P excited states. The necessary Cr–He pair potentials are calculated by standard methods of molecular orbital-based electronic structure theory. In its electronic ground state the Cr atom is found to be fully submerged in the droplet. A solvation shell structure is derived from fluctuations in the radial helium density. Electronic excitations of an embedded Cr atom are simulated by confronting the relaxed helium density (ρHe), obtained for Cr in the ground state, with interaction pair potentials of excited states. The resulting energy shifts for the transitions z7P ← a7S, y7P ← a7S, z5P ← a5S, and y5P ← a5S are compared to recent fluorescence and photoionization experiments. PMID:24906160

Solvation and spectral line shifts of chromium atoms in helium droplets based on a density functional theory approach.

PubMed

Ratschek, Martin; Pototschnig, Johann V; Hauser, Andreas W; Ernst, Wolfgang E

2014-08-21

The interaction of an electronically excited, single chromium (Cr) atom with superfluid helium nanodroplets of various size (10 to 2000 helium (He) atoms) is studied with helium density functional theory. Solvation energies and pseudo-diatomic potential energy surfaces are determined for Cr in its ground state as well as in the y(7)P, a(5)S, and y(5)P excited states. The necessary Cr-He pair potentials are calculated by standard methods of molecular orbital-based electronic structure theory. In its electronic ground state the Cr atom is found to be fully submerged in the droplet. A solvation shell structure is derived from fluctuations in the radial helium density. Electronic excitations of an embedded Cr atom are simulated by confronting the relaxed helium density (ρHe), obtained for Cr in the ground state, with interaction pair potentials of excited states. The resulting energy shifts for the transitions z(7)P ← a(7)S, y(7)P ← a(7)S, z(5)P ← a(5)S, and y(5)P ← a(5)S are compared to recent fluorescence and photoionization experiments.

Symmetry structure in neutron deficient xenon nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Govil, I. M.

1998-12-01

The paper describes the measurements of the lifetimes of the excited states in the ground state band of the Neutron deficient Xe nuclei (122,124Xe) by recoil Distance Method (RDM). The lifetimes of the 2+ state in 122Xe agrees with the RDM measurements but for 124Xe it does not agree the RDM measurements but agrees with the earlier Coulomb-excitation experiment. The experimental results are compared with the existing theories to understand the changes in the symmetry structure of the Xe-nuclei as the Neutron number decreases from N=76(130Xe) to N=64(118Xe).

Vibrational spectroscopy of the electronically excited state. 4. Nanosecond and picosecond time-resolved resonance Raman spectroscopy of carotenoid excited states

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dallinger, R.F.; Farquharson, S.; Woodruff, W.H.

Resonance Raman and electronic absorption spectra are reported for the S/sub 0/ and T/sub 1/ states of the carotenoids ..beta..-carotene, zeaxanthin, echinenone, canthaxanthin, dihydroxylycopene, astaxanthin, decapreno(C/sub 50/)-..beta..-carotene, ..beta..-apo-8'-carotenal, and ethyl ..beta..-apo-8'-carotenoate. The results reveal qualitatively similar ground-state spectra and similar frequency shifts in all observed resonance Raman modes between S/sub 0/ and T/sub 1/, regardless of carotenoid structure. Examinations of the relationship of the putative C--C and C==C frequencies in S/sub 0/ and T/sub 1/ reveals anomalous shifts to lower frequency in the ''single-bond'' mode upon electronic excitation. These shifts may be due to molecular distortions in the excited statemore » which force changes in molecular motions comprising the observed modes. However, another possibility requiring no distortion is that the interaction (off-diagonal) force constants connecting the C--C and C==C modes change sign upon electronic excitation. This latter phenomenon may provide a unitary explanation for the ''anomalous'' frequency shifts in the C--C and C==C modes, both in the T/sub 1/ states of carotenoids and in the S/sub 1/ states of simpler polyenes, without postulating large, unpredicted structural changes upon excitation or general errors in existing vibrational or theoretical analyses. Resonance Raman and absorbance studies with 35-ps time resolution suggest that S/sub 1/ lifetime (of the /sup 1/B/sub u/ and/or the /sup 1/A/sub g/* states) of ..beta..-carotene in benzene is less than 1 ps.« less

Electronic and Structural Elements That Regulate the Excited-State Dynamics in Purine Nucleobase Derivatives

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

The excited-state dynamics of the purine free base and 9-methylpurine are investigated using experimental and theoretical methods. Femtosecond broadband transient absorption experiments reveal that excitation of these purine derivatives in aqueous solution at 266 nm results primarily in ultrafast conversion of the S2(ππ*) state to the vibrationally excited 1nπ* state. Following vibrational and conformational relaxation, the 1nπ* state acts as a doorway state in the efficient population of the triplet manifold with an intersystem crossing lifetime of hundreds of picoseconds. Experiments show an almost 2-fold increase in the intersystem crossing rate on going from polar aprotic to nonpolar solvents, suggesting that a solvent-dependent energy barrier must be surmounted to access the singlet-to-triplet crossing region. Ab initio static and surface-hopping dynamics simulations lend strong support to the proposed relaxation mechanism. Collectively, the experimental and computational results demonstrate that the accessibility of the nπ* states and the topology of the potential energy surfaces in the vicinity of conical intersections are key elements in controlling the excited-state dynamics of the purine derivatives. From a structural perspective, it is shown that the purine chromophore is not responsible for the ultrafast internal conversion in the adenine and guanine monomers. Instead, C6 functionalization plays an important role in regulating the rates of radiative and nonradiative relaxation. C6 functionalization inhibits access to the 1nπ* state while simultaneously facilitating access to the 1ππ*(La)/S0 conical intersection, such that population of the 1nπ* state cannot compete with the relaxation pathways to the ground state involving ring puckering at the C2 position. PMID:25763596

Femtosecond coherent nuclear dynamics of excited tetraphenylethylene: Ultrafast transient absorption and ultrafast Raman loss spectroscopic studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kayal, Surajit; Roy, Khokan; Umapathy, Siva

2018-01-01

Ultrafast torsional dynamics plays an important role in the photoinduced excited state dynamics. Tetraphenylethylene (TPE), a model system for the molecular motor, executes interesting torsional dynamics upon photoexcitation. The photoreaction of TPE involves ultrafast internal conversion via a nearly planar intermediate state (relaxed state) that further leads to a twisted zwitterionic state. Here, we report the photoinduced structural dynamics of excited TPE during the course of photoisomerization in the condensed phase by ultrafast Raman loss (URLS) and femtosecond transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy. TA measurements on the S1 state reveal step-wise population relaxation from the Franck-Condon (FC) state → relaxed state → twisted state, while the URLS study provides insights on the vibrational dynamics during the course of the reaction. The TA spectral dynamics and vibrational Raman amplitudes within 1 ps reveal vibrational wave packet propagating from the FC state to the relaxed state. Fourier transformation of this oscillation leads to a ˜130 cm-1 low-frequency phenyl torsional mode. Two vibrational marker bands, Cet=Cet stretching (˜1512 cm-1) and Cph=Cph stretching (˜1584 cm-1) modes, appear immediately after photoexcitation in the URLS spectra. The initial red-shift of the Cph=Cph stretching mode with a time constant of ˜400 fs (in butyronitrile) is assigned to the rate of planarization of excited TPE. In addition, the Cet=Cet stretching mode shows initial blue-shift within 1 ps followed by frequency red-shift, suggesting that on the sub-picosecond time scale, structural relaxation is dominated by phenyl torsion rather than the central Cet=Cet twist. Furthermore, the effect of the solvent on the structural dynamics is discussed in the context of ultrafast nuclear dynamics and solute-solvent coupling.

Femtosecond coherent nuclear dynamics of excited tetraphenylethylene: Ultrafast transient absorption and ultrafast Raman loss spectroscopic studies.

PubMed

Kayal, Surajit; Roy, Khokan; Umapathy, Siva

2018-01-14

Ultrafast torsional dynamics plays an important role in the photoinduced excited state dynamics. Tetraphenylethylene (TPE), a model system for the molecular motor, executes interesting torsional dynamics upon photoexcitation. The photoreaction of TPE involves ultrafast internal conversion via a nearly planar intermediate state (relaxed state) that further leads to a twisted zwitterionic state. Here, we report the photoinduced structural dynamics of excited TPE during the course of photoisomerization in the condensed phase by ultrafast Raman loss (URLS) and femtosecond transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy. TA measurements on the S 1 state reveal step-wise population relaxation from the Franck-Condon (FC) state → relaxed state → twisted state, while the URLS study provides insights on the vibrational dynamics during the course of the reaction. The TA spectral dynamics and vibrational Raman amplitudes within 1 ps reveal vibrational wave packet propagating from the FC state to the relaxed state. Fourier transformation of this oscillation leads to a ∼130 cm -1 low-frequency phenyl torsional mode. Two vibrational marker bands, C et =C et stretching (∼1512 cm -1 ) and C ph =C ph stretching (∼1584 cm -1 ) modes, appear immediately after photoexcitation in the URLS spectra. The initial red-shift of the C ph =C ph stretching mode with a time constant of ∼400 fs (in butyronitrile) is assigned to the rate of planarization of excited TPE. In addition, the C et =C et stretching mode shows initial blue-shift within 1 ps followed by frequency red-shift, suggesting that on the sub-picosecond time scale, structural relaxation is dominated by phenyl torsion rather than the central C et =C et twist. Furthermore, the effect of the solvent on the structural dynamics is discussed in the context of ultrafast nuclear dynamics and solute-solvent coupling.

Resolving biomolecular motion and interactions by R2 and R1ρ relaxation dispersion NMR.

PubMed

Walinda, Erik; Morimoto, Daichi; Sugase, Kenji

2018-04-26

Among the tools of structural biology, NMR spectroscopy is unique in that it not only derives a static three-dimensional structure, but also provides an atomic-level description of the local fluctuations and global dynamics around this static structure. A battery of NMR experiments is now available to probe the motions of proteins and nucleic acids over the whole biologically relevant timescale from picoseconds to hours. Here we focus on one of these methods, relaxation dispersion, which resolves dynamics on the micro- to millisecond timescale. Key biological processes that occur on this timescale include enzymatic catalysis, ligand binding, and local folding. In other words, relaxation-dispersion-resolved dynamics are often closely related to the function of the molecule and therefore highly interesting to the structural biochemist. With an astounding sensitivity of ∼0.5%, the method detects low-population excited states that are invisible to any other biophysical method. The kinetics of the exchange between the ground state and excited states are quantified in the form of the underlying exchange rate, while structural information about the invisible excited state is obtained in the form of its chemical shift. Lastly, the population of the excited state can be derived. This diversity in the information that can be obtained makes relaxation dispersion an excellent method to study the detailed mechanisms of conformational transitions and molecular interactions. Here we describe the two branches of relaxation dispersion, R 2 and R 1ρ , discussing their applicability, similarities, and differences, as well as recent developments in pulse sequence design and data processing. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Investigation of excited 0+ states in 160Er populated via the (p, t) two-neutron transfer reaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burbadge, C.; Garrett, P. E.; Ball, G. C.; Bildstein, V.; Diaz Varela, A.; Dunlop, M. R.; Dunlop, R.; Faesternann, T.; Hertenberger, R.; Jamieson, D. S.; Kisliuk, D.; Leach, K. G.; Loranger, J.; MacLean, A. D.; Radich, A. J.; Rand, E. T.; Svensson, C. E.; Triambak, S.; Wirth, H.-F.

2018-05-01

Many efforts have been made in nuclear structure physics to interpret the nature of low-lying excited 0+ states in well-deformed rare-earth nuclei. However, one of the difficulties in resolving the nature of these states is that there is a paucity of data. In this work, excited 0+ states in the N = 92 nucleus 160Er were studied via the 162Er(p, t)160Er two-neutron transfer reaction, which is ideal for probing 0+ → 0+ transitions, at the Maier-Leibnitz-Laboratorium in Garching, Germany. Reaction products were momentum-analyzed with a Quadrupole-3-Dipole magnetic spectrograph. The 0+2 state was observed to be strongly populated with 18% of the ground state strength.

Defining the Structural Basis for Allosteric Product Release from E. coli Dihydrofolate Reductase Using NMR Relaxation Dispersion.

PubMed

Oyen, David; Fenwick, R Bryn; Aoto, Phillip C; Stanfield, Robyn L; Wilson, Ian A; Dyson, H Jane; Wright, Peter E

2017-08-16

The rate-determining step in the catalytic cycle of E. coli dihydrofolate reductase is tetrahydrofolate (THF) product release, which can occur via an allosteric or an intrinsic pathway. The allosteric pathway, which becomes accessible when the reduced cofactor NADPH is bound, involves transient sampling of a higher energy conformational state, greatly increasing the product dissociation rate as compared to the intrinsic pathway that obtains when NADPH is absent. Although the kinetics of this process are known, the enzyme structure and the THF product conformation in the transiently formed excited state remain elusive. Here, we use side-chain proton NMR relaxation dispersion measurements, X-ray crystallography, and structure-based chemical shift predictions to explore the structural basis of allosteric product release. In the excited state of the E:THF:NADPH product release complex, the reduced nicotinamide ring of the cofactor transiently enters the active site where it displaces the pterin ring of the THF product. The p-aminobenzoyl-l-glutamate tail of THF remains weakly bound in a widened binding cleft. Thus, through transient entry of the nicotinamide ring into the active site, the NADPH cofactor remodels the enzyme structure and the conformation of the THF to form a weakly populated excited state that is poised for rapid product release.

Real time observation of the excimer formation dynamics of a gas phase benzene dimer by picosecond pump-probe spectroscopy.

PubMed

Miyazaki, Mitsuhiko; Fujii, Masaaki

2015-10-21

We observed the real-time excimer (EXC) formation dynamics of a gas phase benzene dimer (Bz2) cluster after photo-excitation to the S1 state by applying an ionization detected picosecond transient absorption method for probing the visible EXC absorption for the first time. The time evolution of the EXC absorption from the S1 0(0) level shows a rise that is well fitted by a single exponential function with a time constant of 18 ± 2 ps. The structure of the Bz dimer has a T-shaped structure in the ground electronic state, and that in the EXC state is a parallel sandwich (SW) structure. Thus, the observed rise time corresponds to the structural change from the T to the SW structures, which directly shows the EXC formation. On the other hand, the EXC formation after excitation of the S1 6(1) vibrational level of the stem site showed a faster rise of the time constant of 10 ± 2 ps. Supposing equilibrium between the EXC and the local excited states, it followed that the intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution rate of the 6(1) level is largely enhanced and becomes faster than the EXC formation reaction.

Vertical electric field induced suppression of fine structure splitting of excited state excitons in a single GaAs/AlGaAs island quantum dots

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ghali, Mohsen; Laboratory of Nanophotonics, Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Kafrelsheikh University, 33516 Kafrelsheikh; Ohno, Yuzo

2015-09-21

We report experimentally on fine structure splitting (FSS) of various excitonic transitions in single GaAs island quantum dots, formed by a monolayer thickness fluctuation in the narrow GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well, and embedded in an n-i-Schottky diode device. By applying a forward vertical electric field (F) between the top metallic contact and the sample substrate, we observed an in-plane polarization rotation of both the ground and the excited state excitons with increasing the electric field. The polarization rotations were accompanied with a strong decrease in the FSS of the ground as well as the excited state excitons with the field, untilmore » the FSS vanished as F approached 30 kV/cm.« less

Inner-shell excitation and ionic fragmentation of molecules

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hitchcock, A.P.; Tyliszczak, T.; Cavell, R.G.

1997-04-01

Inner-shell excitation and associated decay spectroscopies are site specific probes of electronic and geometrical structure and photoionization dynamics. X-ray absorption probes the geometric and electronic structure, while time-of-flight mass spectrometry with multi-coincidence detection provides information on the photofragmentation dynamics of the initially produced inner-shell state. Auger decay of inner-shell excited and ionised states is an efficient source of multiply charged ions. The charge separation and fragmentation of these species, studied by photoelectron-photoion-photoion coincidence (also called charge separation mass spectrometry) gives insights into bonding and electronic structure. In molecules, the dependence of the fragmentation process on the X-ray energy can revealmore » cases of site and/or state selective fragmentation. At the ALS the authors have examined the soft X-ray spectroscopy and ionic fragmentation of a number of molecules, including carboranes, silylenes, phosphorus halides, SF{sub 6} and CO{sub 2}. Their work is illustrated using results from the carborane and PF{sub 3} studies.« less

Photodissociation of OCS: deviations between theory and experiment, and the importance of higher order correlation effects.

PubMed

Schmidt, J A; Olsen, J M H

2014-11-14

The photodissociation of carbonyl sulfide (OCS) was investigated theoretically in a series of studies by Schmidt and co-workers. Initial studies [J. A. Schmidt, M. S. Johnson, G. C. McBane, and R. Schinke, J. Chem. Phys. 136, 131101 (2012); J. A. Schmidt, M. S. Johnson, G. C. McBane, and R. Schinke, J. Chem. Phys. 137, 054313 (2012)] found photodissociation in the first UV-band to occur mainly by excitation of the 2(1)A' (A) excited state. However, in a later study [G. C. McBane, J. A. Schmidt, M. S. Johnson, and R. Schinke, J. Chem. Phys. 138, 094314 (2013)] it was found that a significant fraction of photodissociation must occur by excitation of 1(1)A″ (B) excited state to explain the product angular distribution. The branching between excitation of the A and B excited states is determined by the magnitude of the transition dipole moment vectors in the Franck-Condon region. This study examines the sensitivity of these quantities to changes in the employed electronic structure methodology. This study benchmarks the methodology employed in previous studies against highly correlated electronic structure methods (CC3 and MRAQCC) and provide evidence in support of the picture of the OCS photodissociation process presented in [G. C. McBane, J. A. Schmidt, M. S. Johnson, and R. Schinke, J. Chem. Phys. 138, 094314 (2013)] showing that excitation of A and B electronic states both contribute significantly to the first UV absorption band of OCS. In addition, this study presents evidence in support of the assertion that the A state potential energy surface employed in previous studies underestimates the energy at highly bent geometries (γ ∼ 70°) leading to overestimated rotational energy in the product CO.

Excitation energy shift and size difference of low-energy levels in p -shell Λ hypernuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanada-En'yo, Yoshiko

2018-02-01

Structures of low-lying 0 s -orbit Λ states in p -shell Λ hypernuclei (ZAΛ) are investigated by applying microscopic cluster models for nuclear structure and a single-channel folding potential model for a Λ particle. For A >10 systems, the size reduction of core nuclei is small, and the core polarization effect is regarded as a higher-order perturbation in the Λ binding. The present calculation qualitatively describes the systematic trend of experimental data for excitation energy change from Z-1A to ZAΛ, in A >10 systems. The energy change shows a clear correlation with the nuclear size difference between the ground and excited states. In Li7Λ and Be9Λ, the significant shrinkage of cluster structures occurs consistently with the prediction of other calculations.

OPTICAL ABSORPTION SPECTRUM OF ANTIFERROMAGNETIC MNF2.

DTIC Science & Technology

separated in energy and easily identifiable, (3) has a very simple ground state, and (4) has a well studied magnon structure, an investigation was...undertaken of the excited states in the hope of observing other magnetic dipole transitions and their accompanying magnon sidebands. This study was...similarities between the magnon sidebands in several excited states of the Mn(+2) ion, and to determine the importance of spin assisted transitions in

Two-cluster structure of some alpha-scattering resonances in the sd shell

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Budzanowski, A.; Grotowski, K.; Strzalkowski, A.

1975-01-01

The excitation functions of the elastic scattering of alpha particles at backward angles on $sup 24$Mg and $sup 28$Si nuclei in the energy range from 23 to 28 MeV measured by Bobrowska et al. exhibit distinct maxima. It was shown that these maxima are not correlated with the structures seen in the excitation functions of the ($alpha$,$alpha$') and ($alpha$,p) reactions leading to low- lying excited states of the final nucleus possibly indicating the presence of Ericson fluctuations. (auth)

Nuclear States with Abnormally Large Radii (size Isomers)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogloblin, A. A.; Demyanova, A. S.; Danilov, A. N.; Belyaeva, T. L.; Goncharov, S. A.

2015-06-01

Application of the methods of measuring the radii of the short-lived excited states (Modified diffraction model MDM, Inelastic nuclear rainbow scattering method INRS, Asymptotic normalization coefficients method ANC) to the analysis of some nuclear reactions provide evidence of existing in 9Be, 11B, 12C, 13C the excited states whose radii exceed those of the corresponding ground states by ~ 30%. Two types of structure of these "size isomers" were identified: neutron halo an α-clusters.

Simultaneous Excitation of Multiple-Input Multiple-Output CFD-Based Unsteady Aerodynamic Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Silva, Walter A.

2008-01-01

A significant improvement to the development of CFD-based unsteady aerodynamic reduced-order models (ROMs) is presented. This improvement involves the simultaneous excitation of the structural modes of the CFD-based unsteady aerodynamic system that enables the computation of the unsteady aerodynamic state-space model using a single CFD execution, independent of the number of structural modes. Four different types of inputs are presented that can be used for the simultaneous excitation of the structural modes. Results are presented for a flexible, supersonic semi-span configuration using the CFL3Dv6.4 code.

Simultaneous Excitation of Multiple-Input Multiple-Output CFD-Based Unsteady Aerodynamic Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Silva, Walter A.

2007-01-01

A significant improvement to the development of CFD-based unsteady aerodynamic reduced-order models (ROMs) is presented. This improvement involves the simultaneous excitation of the structural modes of the CFD-based unsteady aerodynamic system that enables the computation of the unsteady aerodynamic state-space model using a single CFD execution, independent of the number of structural modes. Four different types of inputs are presented that can be used for the simultaneous excitation of the structural modes. Results are presented for a flexible, supersonic semi-span configuration using the CFL3Dv6.4 code.

Resolving the excited state equilibrium of peridinin in solution.

PubMed

Papagiannakis, Emmanouil; Larsen, Delmar S; van Stokkum, Ivo H M; Vengris, Mikas; Hiller, Roger G; van Grondelle, Rienk

2004-12-14

The carotenoid peridinin is abundant in the biosphere, as it is the main pigment bound by the light-harvesting complexes of dinoflagellates, where it collects blue and green sunlight and transfers energy to chlorophyll a with high efficiency. Its molecular structure is particularly complex, giving rise to an intricate excited state manifold, which includes a state with charge-transfer character. To disentangle the excited states of peridinin and understand their function in vivo, we applied dispersed pump-probe and pump-dump-probe spectroscopy. The preferential depletion of population from the intramolecular charge transfer state by the dump pulse demonstrates that the S(1) and this charge transfer state are distinct entities. The ensuing dump-induced dynamics illustrates the equilibration of the two states which occurs on the time scale of a few picoseconds. Additionally, the dump pulse populates a short-lived ground state intermediate, which is suggestive of a complex relaxation pathway, probably including structural reorientation or solvation of the ground state. These findings indicate that the unique intramolecular charge transfer state of peridinin is an efficient energy donor to chlorophyll a in the peridinin-chlorophyll-protein complex and thus plays a significant role in global light harvesting.

Two-dimensional Fano lineshapes: Excited-state absorption contributions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Finkelstein-Shapiro, Daniel; Pullerits, Tõnu; Hansen, Thorsten

2018-05-01

Fano interferences in nanostructures are influenced by dissipation effects as well as many-body interactions. Two-dimensional coherent spectroscopies have just begun to be applied to these systems where the spectroscopic signatures of a discrete-continuum structure are not known. In this article, we calculate the excited-state absorption contribution for different models of higher lying excited states. We find that the characteristic asymmetry of one-dimensional spectroscopies is recovered from the many-body contributions and that the higher lying excited manifolds have distorted lineshapes that are not anticipated from discrete-level Hamiltonians. We show that the Stimulated Emission cannot have contributions from a flat continuum of states. This work completes the Ground-State Bleach and Stimulated Emission signals that were calculated previously [D. Finkelstein-Shapiro et al., Phys. Rev. B 94, 205137 (2016)]. The model reproduces the observations reported for molecules on surfaces probed by 2DIR.

Two-dimensional Fano lineshapes: Excited-state absorption contributions.

PubMed

Finkelstein-Shapiro, Daniel; Pullerits, Tõnu; Hansen, Thorsten

2018-05-14

Fano interferences in nanostructures are influenced by dissipation effects as well as many-body interactions. Two-dimensional coherent spectroscopies have just begun to be applied to these systems where the spectroscopic signatures of a discrete-continuum structure are not known. In this article, we calculate the excited-state absorption contribution for different models of higher lying excited states. We find that the characteristic asymmetry of one-dimensional spectroscopies is recovered from the many-body contributions and that the higher lying excited manifolds have distorted lineshapes that are not anticipated from discrete-level Hamiltonians. We show that the Stimulated Emission cannot have contributions from a flat continuum of states. This work completes the Ground-State Bleach and Stimulated Emission signals that were calculated previously [D. Finkelstein-Shapiro et al., Phys. Rev. B 94, 205137 (2016)]. The model reproduces the observations reported for molecules on surfaces probed by 2DIR.

Shell- and subshell-resolved projectile excitation of hydrogenlike Au{sup 78+} ions in relativistic ion-atom collisions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gumberidze, A.; Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies FIAS, D-60438 Frankfurt am Main; Fritzsche, S.

2010-11-15

The projectile excitation of high-Z ions has been investigated in relativistic ion-atoms collisions by observing the subsequent x-ray emission. The x-ray spectra from the projectile excitation have been separated from the x-ray emission following electron capture into the excited states using a novel anticoincidence technique. For the particular case of hydrogenlike Au{sup 78+} ions colliding with Ar atoms, Coulomb excitation from the ground state into the fine-structure-resolved n=2 levels as well as into levels with principal quantum number n{>=}3 has been measured with excellent statistics. The observed spectra agree well with simulated spectra that are based on Dirac's relativistic equationmore » and the proper inclusion of the magnetic interaction into the amplitudes for projectile excitation. It is shown that a coherent inclusion of the magnetic part of the Lienard-Wiechert potential leads to the lowering of the excitation cross section by up to 35%. This effect is more pronounced for excitation into states with high angular momentum and is confirmed by our experimental data.« less

Excited State Charge Transfer reaction with dual emission from 5-(4-dimethylamino-phenyl)-penta-2,4-dienenitrile: Spectral measurement and theoretical density functional theory calculation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jana, Sankar; Dalapati, Sasanka; Ghosh, Shalini; Kar, Samiran; Guchhait, Nikhil

2011-07-01

The excited state intramolecular charge transfer process in donor-chromophore-acceptor system 5-(4-dimethylamino-phenyl)-penta-2,4-dienenitrile (DMAPPDN) has been investigated by steady state absorption and emission spectroscopy in combination with Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. This flexible donor acceptor molecule DMAPPDN shows dual fluorescence corresponding to emission from locally excited and charge transfer state in polar solvent. Large solvatochromic emission shift, effect of variation of pH and HOMO-LUMO molecular orbital pictures support excited state intramolecular charge transfer process. The experimental findings have been correlated with the calculated structure and potential energy surfaces based on the Twisted Intramolecular Charge Transfer (TICT) model obtained at DFT level using B3LYP functional and 6-31+G( d, p) basis set. The theoretical potential energy surfaces for the excited states have been generated in vacuo and acetonitrile solvent using Time Dependent Density Functional Theory (TDDFT) and Time Dependent Density Functional Theory Polarized Continuum Model (TDDFT-PCM) method, respectively. All the theoretical results show well agreement with the experimental observations.

XUV-induced reactions in benzene on sub-10 fs timescale: nonadiabatic relaxation and proton migration.

PubMed

Galbraith, M C E; Smeenk, C T L; Reitsma, G; Marciniak, A; Despré, V; Mikosch, J; Zhavoronkov, N; Vrakking, M J J; Kornilov, O; Lépine, F

2017-08-02

Unraveling ultrafast dynamical processes in highly excited molecular species has an impact on our understanding of chemical processes such as combustion or the chemical composition of molecular clouds in the universe. In this article we use short (<7 fs) XUV pulses to produce excited cationic states of benzene molecules and probe their dynamics using few-cycle VIS/NIR laser pulses. The excited states produced by the XUV pulses lie in an especially complex spectral region where multi-electronic effects play a dominant role. We show that very fast τ ≈ 20 fs nonadiabatic processes dominate the relaxation of these states, in agreement with the timescale expected for most excited cationic states in benzene. In the CH 3 + fragmentation channel of the doubly ionized benzene cation we identify pathways that involve structural rearrangement and proton migration to a specific carbon atom. Further, we observe non-trivial transient behavior in this fragment channel, which can be interpreted either in terms of propagation of the nuclear wavepacket in the initially excited electronic state of the cation or as a two-step electronic relaxation via an intermediate state.

A method for the direct measurement of electronic site populations in a molecular aggregate using two-dimensional electronic-vibrational spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lewis, Nicholas H. C.; Dong, Hui; Oliver, Thomas A. A.

2015-09-28

Two dimensional electronic spectroscopy has proven to be a valuable experimental technique to reveal electronic excitation dynamics in photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes, nanoscale semiconductors, organic photovoltaic materials, and many other types of systems. It does not, however, provide direct information concerning the spatial structure and dynamics of excitons. 2D infrared spectroscopy has become a widely used tool for studying structural dynamics but is incapable of directly providing information concerning electronic excited states. 2D electronic-vibrational (2DEV) spectroscopy provides a link between these domains, directly connecting the electronic excitation with the vibrational structure of the system under study. In this work, we derivemore » response functions for the 2DEV spectrum of a molecular dimer and propose a method by which 2DEV spectra could be used to directly measure the electronic site populations as a function of time following the initial electronic excitation. We present results from the response function simulations which show that our proposed approach is substantially valid. This method provides, to our knowledge, the first direct experimental method for measuring the electronic excited state dynamics in the spatial domain, on the molecular scale.« less

A method for the direct measurement of electronic site populations in a molecular aggregate using two-dimensional electronic-vibrational spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lewis, Nicholas H. C.; Dong, Hui; Oliver, Thomas A. A.

2015-09-28

Two dimensional electronic spectroscopy has proved to be a valuable experimental technique to reveal electronic excitation dynamics in photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes, nanoscale semiconductors, organic photovoltaic materials, and many other types of systems. It does not, however, provide direct information concerning the spatial structure and dynamics of excitons. 2D infrared spectroscopy has become a widely used tool for studying structural dynamics but is incapable of directly providing information concerning electronic excited states. 2D electronic-vibrational (2DEV) spectroscopy provides a link between these domains, directly connecting the electronic excitation with the vibrational structure of the system under study. In this work, we derivemore » response functions for the 2DEV spectrum of a molecular dimer and propose a method by which 2DEV spectra could be used to directly measure the electronic site populations as a function of time following the initial electronic excitation. We present results from the response function simulations which show that our proposed approach is substantially valid. This method provides, to our knowledge, the first direct experimental method for measuring the electronic excited state dynamics in the spatial domain, on the molecular scale.« less

A method for the direct measurement of electronic site populations in a molecular aggregate using two-dimensional electronic-vibrational spectroscopy.

PubMed

Lewis, Nicholas H C; Dong, Hui; Oliver, Thomas A A; Fleming, Graham R

2015-09-28

Two dimensional electronic spectroscopy has proved to be a valuable experimental technique to reveal electronic excitation dynamics in photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes, nanoscale semiconductors, organic photovoltaic materials, and many other types of systems. It does not, however, provide direct information concerning the spatial structure and dynamics of excitons. 2D infrared spectroscopy has become a widely used tool for studying structural dynamics but is incapable of directly providing information concerning electronic excited states. 2D electronic-vibrational (2DEV) spectroscopy provides a link between these domains, directly connecting the electronic excitation with the vibrational structure of the system under study. In this work, we derive response functions for the 2DEV spectrum of a molecular dimer and propose a method by which 2DEV spectra could be used to directly measure the electronic site populations as a function of time following the initial electronic excitation. We present results from the response function simulations which show that our proposed approach is substantially valid. This method provides, to our knowledge, the first direct experimental method for measuring the electronic excited state dynamics in the spatial domain, on the molecular scale.

Noise-induced escape in an excitable system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khovanov, I. A.; Polovinkin, A. V.; Luchinsky, D. G.; McClintock, P. V. E.

2013-03-01

We consider the stochastic dynamics of escape in an excitable system, the FitzHugh-Nagumo (FHN) neuronal model, for different classes of excitability. We discuss, first, the threshold structure of the FHN model as an example of a system without a saddle state. We then develop a nonlinear (nonlocal) stability approach based on the theory of large fluctuations, including a finite-noise correction, to describe noise-induced escape in the excitable regime. We show that the threshold structure is revealed via patterns of most probable (optimal) fluctuational paths. The approach allows us to estimate the escape rate and the exit location distribution. We compare the responses of a monostable resonator and monostable integrator to stochastic input signals and to a mixture of periodic and stochastic stimuli. Unlike the commonly used local analysis of the stable state, our nonlocal approach based on optimal paths yields results that are in good agreement with direct numerical simulations of the Langevin equation.

Ultrafast electronic and vibrational dynamics of stabilized A state mutants of the green fluorescent protein (GFP): Snipping the proton wire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stoner-Ma, Deborah; Jaye, Andrew A.; Ronayne, Kate L.; Nappa, Jérôme; Tonge, Peter J.; Meech, Stephen R.

2008-06-01

Two blue absorbing and emitting mutants (S65G/T203V/E222Q and S65T at pH 5.5) of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) have been investigated through ultrafast time resolved infra-red (TRIR) and fluorescence spectroscopy. In these mutants, in which the excited state proton transfer reaction observed in wild-type GFP has been blocked, the photophysics are dominated by the neutral A state. It was found that the A∗ excited state lifetime is short, indicating that it is relatively less stabilised in the protein matrix than the anionic form. However, the lifetime of the A state can be increased through modifications to the protein structure. The TRIR spectra show that a large shifts in protein vibrational modes on excitation of the A state occurs in both these GFP mutants. This is ascribed to a change in H-bonding interactions between the protein matrix and the excited state.

Electronic excitation induced amorphization in titanate pyrochlores: an ab initio molecular dynamics study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xiao, Haiyan Y.; Weber, William J.; Zhang, Yanwen

2015-02-09

In this study, the response of titanate pyrochlores (A 2Ti 2O 7, A = Y, Gd and Sm) to electronic excitation is investigated utilizing an ab initio molecular dynamics method. All the titanate pyrochlores are found to undergo a crystalline-to-amorphous structural transition under a low concentration of electronic excitations. The transition temperature at which structural amorphization starts to occur depends on the concentration of electronic excitations. During the structural transition, O 2-like molecules are formed, and this anion disorder further drives cation disorder that leads to an amorphous state. This study provides new insights into the mechanisms of amorphization inmore » titanate pyrochlores under laser, electron and ion irradiations.« less

Electronic excitations in finite and infinite polyenes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tavan, Paul; Schulten, Klaus

1987-09-01

We study electronic excitations in long polyenes, i.e., in one-dimensional strongly correlated electron systems which are neither infinite nor small. The excitations are described within Hubbard and Pariser-Parr-Pople (PPP) models by means of a multiple-reference double-excitation expansion [P. Tavan and K. Schulten, J. Chem. Phys. 85, 6602 (1986)]. We find that quantized ``transition'' momenta can be assigned to electronic excitations in finite chains. These momenta link excitation energies of finite chains to dispersion relations of infinite chains, i.e., they bridge the gap between finite and infinite systems. A key result is the following: Excitation energies E in polyenes with N carbon atoms are described very accurately by the formula Eβ=ΔEβ0+αβk(N)q, q=1,2,..., where β denotes the excitation class, ΔEβ0 the energy gap in the infinite system [αβk(N)>0], and k(N) the elementary transition momentum. The parameters ΔEβ0 and αβ are determined for covalent and ionic excitations in alternating and nonalternating polyenes. The covalent excitations are combinations of triplet excitations T, i.e., T, TT, TTT, . . . . The lowest singlet excitations in the infinite polyene, e.g., in polyacetylene or polydiacetylene, are TT states. Available evidence proves that these states can dissociate into separate triplets. The bond structure of TT states is that of a neutral soliton-antisoliton pair. The level density of TT states in long polyenes is high enough to allow dissociation into separate solitons.

Magnetic structures and excitations in CePd2(Al,Ga)2 series: Development of the "vibron" states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klicpera, M.; Boehm, M.; Doležal, P.; Mutka, H.; Koza, M. M.; Rols, S.; Adroja, D. T.; Puente Orench, I.; Rodríguez-Carvajal, J.; Javorský, P.

2017-02-01

CePd2Al2 -xGax compounds crystallizing in the tetragonal CaBe2Ge2 -type structure (space group P 4 /n m m ) and undergoing a structural phase transition to an orthorhombic structure (C m m e ) at low temperatures were studied by means of neutron scattering. The amplitude-modulated magnetic structure of CePd2Al2 is described by an incommensurate propagation vector k ⃗=(δx,1/2 +δy,0 ) with δx=0.06 and δy=0.04 . The magnetic moments order antiferromagnetically within the a b planes stacked along the c axis and are arranged along the direction close to the orthorhombic a axis with a maximum value of 1.5(1) μB/Ce3 +. CePd2Ga2 reveals a magnetic structure composed of two components: the first is described by the propagation vector k1⃗=(1/2 ,1/2 ,0 ) , and the second one propagates with k2⃗=(0 ,1/2 ,0 ) . The magnetic moments of both components are aligned along the same direction—the orthorhombic [100] direction—and their total amplitude varies depending on the mutual phase of magnetic moment components on each Ce site. The propagation vectors k1⃗ and k2⃗ describe also the magnetic structure of substituted CePd2Al2 -xGax compounds, except the one with x =0.1 .CePd2Al1.9Ga0.1 with magnetic structure described by k ⃗ and k1⃗ stays on the border between pure CePd2Al2 and the rest of the series. Determined magnetic structures are compared with other Ce 112 compounds. Inelastic neutron scattering experiments disclosed three nondispersive magnetic excitations in the paramagnetic state of CePd2Al2 , while only two crystal field (CF) excitations are expected from the splitting of ground state J =5/2 of the Ce3 + ion in a tetragonal/orthorhombic point symmetry. Three magnetic excitations at 1.4, 7.8, and 15.9 meV are observed in the tetragonal phase of CePd2Al2 . A structural phase transition to an orthorhombic structure shifts the first excitation up to 3.7 meV, while the other two excitations remain at almost the same energy. The presence of an additional magnetic peak is discussed and described within the Thalmeier-Fulde CF-phonon coupling (i.e., magnetoelastic coupling) model generalized to the tetragonal point symmetry. The second parent compound CePd2Ga2 does not display any sign of additional magnetic excitation. The expected two CF excitations were observed. The development of magnetic excitations in the CePd2Al2 -xGax series is discussed and crystal field parameters determined.

The Spectroscopy and Photophysics of Aniline, 2-AMINOPYRIDINE, and 3-AMINOPYRIDINE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Byungjoo

1995-01-01

Two-photon ionization photoelectron spectroscopic techniques have been employed in concert with a picosecond laser system and molecular beam machine to study the vibrational structure of molecular ions and the intramolecular dynamics of optically prepared intermediate states. From photoelectron spectra of 2-aminopyridine via various S_1 vibronic resonances, the frequencies of several vibrations in the ionic state are assigned. The ionization potential of the molecule is found to be 8.099 +/- 0.003 eV. Using two-color ionization techniques, the electronic overlap effects in the photoionization of excited molecules have been studied, on the example of 2-aminopyridine, 3-aminopyridine, and aniline. The molecules are excited to their S_1 states, and ionized by a 200 nm laser pulse within 50 ps. The spectra of the aminopyridines show a striking absence of transitions to excited electronic states of the ions, indicating small electronic overlap factors in the ionization transitions and very little configuration interaction in the S _1 states. The spectra of aniline show the vibrationally resolved first excited electronic state band of the ion, which is very weak compared to the ground electronic state band, indicating a small amount of orbital mixing in the S_1 state. The vibrational peaks in the band were assigned by comparison of the spectra via two different vibronic resonances. The observations demonstrate that electronic overlap effects play a very general role in the ionization of polyatomic molecules in electronically excited states, and that orbital mixing patterns of the excited electronic states may become observable by projecting molecular electronic wavefunctions onto the ion states. In the time-delayed experiments for these molecules, all spectra reveal only one product of the nonradiative relaxation process. Careful considerations of electronic and vibrational overlap propensity rules for the ionization step lead to the conclusion that the dominant nonradiative decay mechanism in these molecules is the intersystem crossing to excited vibrational states of the T_1 state. This technique has been applied to study the predissociation process of CS_2 in the S_3 vibronic levels near 200 nm. The spectra show extensive vibrational structure, with unusual activity in the antisymmetric vibrations, indicating the possibility of level mixing in the intermediate state by the IVR couplings.

Communication: Smoothing out excited-state dynamics: Analytical gradients for dynamically weighted complete active space self-consistent field

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Glover, W. J., E-mail: williamjglover@gmail.com

2014-11-07

State averaged complete active space self-consistent field (SA-CASSCF) is a workhorse for determining the excited-state electronic structure of molecules, particularly for states with multireference character; however, the method suffers from known issues that have prevented its wider adoption. One issue is the presence of discontinuities in potential energy surfaces when a state that is not included in the state averaging crosses with one that is. In this communication I introduce a new dynamical weight with spline (DWS) scheme that mimics SA-CASSCF while removing energy discontinuities due to unweighted state crossings. In addition, analytical gradients for DWS-CASSCF (and other dynamically weightedmore » schemes) are derived for the first time, enabling energy-conserving excited-state ab initio molecular dynamics in instances where SA-CASSCF fails.« less

Theory of spin-conserving excitation of the N-V(-) center in diamond.

PubMed

Gali, Adam; Janzén, Erik; Deák, Péter; Kresse, Georg; Kaxiras, Efthimios

2009-10-30

The negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy defect in diamond is an important atomic-scale structure that can be used as a qubit in quantum computing and as a marker in biomedical applications. Its usefulness relies on the ability to optically excite electrons between well-defined gap states, which requires a clear and detailed understanding of the relevant states and excitation processes. Here we show that by using hybrid density-functional-theory calculations in a large supercell we can reproduce the zero-phonon line and the Stokes and anti-Stokes shifts, yielding a complete picture of the spin-conserving excitation of this defect.

Protein Structural Deformation Induced Lifetime Shortening of Photosynthetic Bacteria Light-Harvesting Complex LH2 Excited State

PubMed Central

Chen, Xing-Hai; Zhang, Lei; Weng, Yu-Xiang; Du, Lu-Chao; Ye, Man-Ping; Yang, Guo-Zhen; Fujii, Ritsuko; Rondonuwu, Ferdy S.; Koyama, Yasushi; Wu, Yi-Shi; Zhang, J. P.

2005-01-01

Photosynthetic bacterial light-harvesting antenna complex LH2 was immobilized on the surface of TiO2 nanoparticles in the colloidal solution. The LH2/TiO2 assembly was investigated by the time-resolved spectroscopic methods. The excited-state lifetimes for carotenoid-containing and carotenoidless LH2 have been measured, showing a decrease in the excited-state lifetime of B850 when LH2 was immobilized on TiO2. The possibility that the decrease of the LH2 excited-state lifetime being caused by an interfacial electron transfer reaction between B850 and the TiO2 nanoparticle was precluded experimentally. We proposed that the observed change in the photophysical properties of LH2 when assembled onto TiO2 nanoparticles is arising from the interfacial-interaction-induced structural deformation of the LH2 complex deviating from an ellipse of less eccentric to a more eccentric ellipse, and the observed phenomenon can be accounted by an elliptical exciton model. Experiment by using photoinactive SiO2 nanoparticle in place of TiO2 and core complex LH1 instead of LH2 provide further evidence to the proposed mechanism. PMID:15821161

Protein structural deformation induced lifetime shortening of photosynthetic bacteria light-harvesting complex LH2 excited state.

PubMed

Chen, Xing-Hai; Zhang, Lei; Weng, Yu-Xiang; Du, Lu-Chao; Ye, Man-Ping; Yang, Guo-Zhen; Fujii, Ritsuko; Rondonuwu, Ferdy S; Koyama, Yasushi; Wu, Yi-Shi; Zhang, J P

2005-06-01

Photosynthetic bacterial light-harvesting antenna complex LH2 was immobilized on the surface of TiO(2) nanoparticles in the colloidal solution. The LH2/TiO(2) assembly was investigated by the time-resolved spectroscopic methods. The excited-state lifetimes for carotenoid-containing and carotenoidless LH2 have been measured, showing a decrease in the excited-state lifetime of B850 when LH2 was immobilized on TiO(2). The possibility that the decrease of the LH2 excited-state lifetime being caused by an interfacial electron transfer reaction between B850 and the TiO(2) nanoparticle was precluded experimentally. We proposed that the observed change in the photophysical properties of LH2 when assembled onto TiO(2) nanoparticles is arising from the interfacial-interaction-induced structural deformation of the LH2 complex deviating from an ellipse of less eccentric to a more eccentric ellipse, and the observed phenomenon can be accounted by an elliptical exciton model. Experiment by using photoinactive SiO(2) nanoparticle in place of TiO(2) and core complex LH1 instead of LH2 provide further evidence to the proposed mechanism.

Electronic structures and population dynamics of excited states of xanthione and its derivatives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fedunov, Roman G.; Rogozina, Marina V.; Khokhlova, Svetlana S.; Ivanov, Anatoly I.; Tikhomirov, Sergei A.; Bondarev, Stanislav L.; Raichenok, Tamara F.; Buganov, Oleg V.; Olkhovik, Vyacheslav K.; Vasilevskii, Dmitrii A.

2017-09-01

A new compound, 1,3-dimethoxy xanthione (DXT), has been synthesized and its absorption (stationary and transient) and luminescence spectra have been measured in n-hexane and compared with xanthione (XT) spectra. The pronounced broadening of xanthione vibronic absorption band related to the electronic transition to the second singlet excited state has been observed. Distinctions between the spectra of xanthione and its methoxy derivatives are discussed. Quantum chemical calculations of these compounds in the ground and excited electronic states have been accomplished to clarify the nature of electronic spectra changes due to modification of xanthione by methoxy groups. Appearance of a new absorption band of DXT caused by symmetry changes has been discussed. Calculations of the second excited state structure of xanthione and its methoxy derivatives confirm noticeable charge transfer (about 0.1 of the charge of an electron) from the methoxy group to thiocarbonyl group. Fitting of the transient spectra of XT and DXT has been fulfilled and the time constants of internal conversion S2 →S1 and intersystem crossing S1 →T1 have been determined. A considerable difference between the time constants of internal conversion S2 →S1 in XT and DXT is uncovered.

Pressure-induced emission band separation of the hybridized local and charge transfer excited state in a TPE-based crystal.

PubMed

Liu, Xuedan; Li, Aisen; Xu, Weiqing; Ma, Zhiyong; Jia, Xinru

2018-05-08

We herein report a newly synthesized simple molecule, named TPE[double bond, length as m-dash]C4, with twisted D-A structure. TPE[double bond, length as m-dash]C4 showed two intrinsic emission bands ascribed to the locally excited (LE) state and the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) state, respectively. In the crystal state, the LE emission band is usually observed. However, by applying hydrostatic pressure to the powder sample and the single crystal sample of TPE[double bond, length as m-dash]C4, dual-fluorescence (445 nm and 532 nm) was emerged under high pressure, owing to the pressure-induced emission band separation of the hybridized local and charge transfer excited state (HLCT). It is found that the emission of TPE[double bond, length as m-dash]C4 is generally determined by the ratio of the LE state to the ICT state. The ICT emission band is much more sensitive to the external pressure than the LE emission band. The HLCT state leads to a sample with different responsiveness to grinding and hydrostatic pressure. This study is of significance in the molecular design of such D-A type molecules and in the control of photoluminescence features by molecular structure. Such results are expected to pave a new way to further understand the relationship between the D-A molecular structure and stimuli-responsive properties.

Precise Design of Phosphorescent Molecular Butterflies with Tunable Photoinduced Structural Change and Dual Emission.

PubMed

Zhou, Chenkun; Tian, Yu; Yuan, Zhao; Han, Mingu; Wang, Jamie; Zhu, Lei; Tameh, Maliheh Shaban; Huang, Chen; Ma, Biwu

2015-08-10

Photoinduced structural change (PSC) is a fundamental excited-state dynamic process in chemical and biological systems. However, precise control of PSC processes is very challenging, owing to the lack of guidelines for designing excited-state potential energy surfaces (PESs). A series of rationally designed butterfly-like phosphorescent binuclear platinum complexes that undergo controlled PSC by Pt-Pt distance shortening and exhibit tunable dual (greenish-blue and red) emission are herein reported. Based on the Bell-Evans-Polanyi principle, it is demonstrated how the energy barrier of the PSC, which can be described as a chemical-reaction-like process between the two energy minima on the first triplet excited-state PES, can be controlled by synthetic means. These results reveal a simple method to engineer the dual emission of molecular systems by manipulating PES to control PSC. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Imaging ultrafast excited state pathways in transition metal complexes by X-ray transient absorption and scattering using X-ray free electron laser source

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Lin X.; Shelby, Megan L.; Lestrange, Patrick J.

2016-01-01

This report will describe our recent studies of transition metal complex structural dynamics on the fs and ps time scales using an X-ray free electron laser source, Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). Ultrafast XANES spectra at the Ni K-edge of nickel(II) tetramesitylporphyrin (NiTMP) were successfully measured for optically excited state at a timescale from 100 fs to 50 ps, providing insight into its sub-ps electronic and structural relaxation processes. Importantly, a transient reduced state Ni(I) (π, 3dx2-y2) electronic state is captured through the interpretation of a short-lived excited state absorption on the low-energy shoulder of the edge, which is aidedmore » by the computation of X-ray transitions for postulated excited electronic states. The observed and computed inner shell to valence orbital transition energies demonstrate and quantify the influence of electronic configuration on specific metal orbital energies. A strong influence of the valence orbital occupation on the inner shell orbital energies indicates that one should not use the transition energy from 1s to other orbitals to draw conclusions about the d-orbital energies. For photocatalysis, a transient electronic configuration could influence d-orbital energies up to a few eV and any attempt to steer the reaction pathway should account for this to ensure that external energies can be used optimally in driving desirable processes. NiTMP structural evolution and the influence of the porphyrin macrocycle conformation on relaxation kinetics can be likewise inferred from this study.« less

Theoretical Study of Energy Levels and Transition Probabilities of Boron Atom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian Yi, Zhang; Neng Wu, Zheng

2009-08-01

Full Text PDF Though the electrons configuration for boron atom is simple and boron atom has long been of interest for many researchers, the theoretical studies for properties of BI are not systematic, there are only few results reported on energy levels of high excited states of boron, and transition measurements are generally restricted to transitions involving ground states and low excited states without considering fine structure effects, provided only multiplet results, values for transitions between high excited states are seldom performed. In this article, by using the scheme of the weakest bound electron potential model theory calculations for energy levels of five series are performed and with the same method we give the transition probabilities between excited states with considering fine structure effects. The comprehensive set of calculations attempted in this paper could be of some value to workers in the field because of the lack of published calculations for the BI systems. The perturbations coming from foreign perturbers are taken into account in studying the energy levels. Good agreement between our results and the accepted values taken from NIST has been obtained. We also reported some values of energy levels and transition probabilities not existing on the NIST data bases.

Photoionization of furan from the ground and excited electronic states.

PubMed

Ponzi, Aurora; Sapunar, Marin; Angeli, Celestino; Cimiraglia, Renzo; Došlić, Nađa; Decleva, Piero

2016-02-28

Here we present a comparative computational study of the photoionization of furan from the ground and the two lowest-lying excited electronic states. The study aims to assess the quality of the computational methods currently employed for treating bound and continuum states in photoionization. For the ionization from the ground electronic state, we show that the Dyson orbital approach combined with an accurate solution of the continuum one particle wave functions in a multicenter B-spline basis, at the density functional theory (DFT) level, provides cross sections and asymmetry parameters in excellent agreement with experimental data. On the contrary, when the Dyson orbitals approach is combined with the Coulomb and orthogonalized Coulomb treatments of the continuum, the results are qualitatively different. In excited electronic states, three electronic structure methods, TDDFT, ADC(2), and CASSCF, have been used for the computation of the Dyson orbitals, while the continuum was treated at the B-spline/DFT level. We show that photoionization observables are sensitive probes of the nature of the excited states as well as of the quality of excited state wave functions. This paves the way for applications in more complex situations such as time resolved photoionization spectroscopy.

Categorical QSAR models for skin sensitization based on local lymph node assay measures and both ground and excited state 4D-fingerprint descriptors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jianzhong; Kern, Petra S.; Gerberick, G. Frank; Santos-Filho, Osvaldo A.; Esposito, Emilio X.; Hopfinger, Anton J.; Tseng, Yufeng J.

2008-06-01

In previous studies we have developed categorical QSAR models for predicting skin-sensitization potency based on 4D-fingerprint (4D-FP) descriptors and in vivo murine local lymph node assay (LLNA) measures. Only 4D-FP derived from the ground state (GMAX) structures of the molecules were used to build the QSAR models. In this study we have generated 4D-FP descriptors from the first excited state (EMAX) structures of the molecules. The GMAX, EMAX and the combined ground and excited state 4D-FP descriptors (GEMAX) were employed in building categorical QSAR models. Logistic regression (LR) and partial least square coupled logistic regression (PLS-CLR), found to be effective model building for the LLNA skin-sensitization measures in our previous studies, were used again in this study. This also permitted comparison of the prior ground state models to those involving first excited state 4D-FP descriptors. Three types of categorical QSAR models were constructed for each of the GMAX, EMAX and GEMAX datasets: a binary model (2-state), an ordinal model (3-state) and a binary-binary model (two-2-state). No significant differences exist among the LR 2-state model constructed for each of the three datasets. However, the PLS-CLR 3-state and 2-state models based on the EMAX and GEMAX datasets have higher predictivity than those constructed using only the GMAX dataset. These EMAX and GMAX categorical models are also more significant and predictive than corresponding models built in our previous QSAR studies of LLNA skin-sensitization measures.

Existence problem of proton semi-bubble structure in the 21 + state of 34Si

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Feng; Bai, C. L.; Yao, J. M.; Zhang, H. Q.; Zhang, X. Z.

2017-09-01

The fully self-consistent Hartree-Fock (HF) plus random phase approximation (RPA) based on Skyrme-type interaction is used to study the existence problem of proton semi-bubble structure in the 21+ state of 34Si. The experimental excitation energy and the transition strength of the 21+ state in 34Si can be reproduced quite well. The tensor effect is also studied. It is shown that the tensor interaction has a notable impact on the excitation energy of the 21+ state and a small effect on the B( E2) value. Besides, its effect on the density distributions in the ground and 21+ state of 34Si is negligible. Our present results with T36 and T44 show that the 21+ state of 34Si is mainly caused by proton transition from π 1d_{5/2} orbit to π 2s_{1/2} orbit, and the existence of a proton semi-bubble structure in this state is very unlikely.

Coherent vs Incoherent Emission from Semiconductor Structures after Resonant Femtosecond Excitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gurioli, Massimo; Bogani, Franco; Ceccherini, Simone; Colocci, Marcello

1997-04-01

We show that an interferometric correlation measurement with fs time resolution provides an unambiguous discrimination between coherent and incoherent emission after resonant femtosecond excitation. The experiment directly probes the most important difference between the two emissions, that is, the phase correlation with the excitation pulse. The comparison with cw frequency resolved measurements demonstrates that the relationship between coherent and incoherent emission is similar under femtosecond and steady-state excitation.

Probing optical excitations in chevron-like armchair graphene nanoribbons.

PubMed

Denk, Richard; Lodi-Rizzini, Alberto; Wang, Shudong; Hohage, Michael; Zeppenfeld, Peter; Cai, Jinming; Fasel, Roman; Ruffieux, Pascal; Berger, Reinhard Franz Josef; Chen, Zongping; Narita, Akimitsu; Feng, Xinliang; Müllen, Klaus; Biagi, Roberto; De Renzi, Valentina; Prezzi, Deborah; Ruini, Alice; Ferretti, Andrea

2017-11-30

The bottom-up fabrication of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) has opened new opportunities to specifically tune their electronic and optical properties by precisely controlling their atomic structure. Here, we address excitation in GNRs with periodic structural wiggles, the so-called chevron GNRs. Based on reflectance difference and high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopies together with ab initio simulations, we demonstrate that their excited-state properties are of excitonic nature. The spectral fingerprints corresponding to different reaction stages in their bottom-up fabrication are also unequivocally identified, allowing us to follow the exciton build-up from the starting monomer precursor to the final GNR structure.

The near ultraviolet photodissociation dynamics of 2- and 3-substituted thiophenols: Geometric vs. electronic structure effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marchetti, Barbara; Karsili, Tolga N. V.; Cipriani, Maicol; Hansen, Christopher S.; Ashfold, Michael N. R.

2017-07-01

The near ultraviolet spectroscopy and photodissociation dynamics of two families of asymmetrically substituted thiophenols (2- and 3-YPhSH, with Y = F and Me) have been investigated experimentally (by H (Rydberg) atom photofragment translational spectroscopy) and by ab initio electronic structure calculations. Photoexcitation in all cases populates the 11ππ* and/or 11πσ* excited states and results in S-H bond fission. Analyses of the experimentally obtained total kinetic energy release (TKER) spectra yield the respective parent S-H bond strengths, estimates of ΔE(A ˜ -X ˜ ), the energy splitting between the ground (X ˜ ) and first excited (A ˜ ) states of the resulting 2-(3-)YPhS radicals, and reveal a clear propensity for excitation of the C-S in-plane bending vibration in the radical products. The companion theory highlights roles for both geometric (e.g., steric effects and intramolecular H-bonding) and electronic (i.e., π (resonance) and σ (inductive)) effects in determining the respective parent minimum energy geometries, and the observed substituent and position-dependent trends in S-H bond strength and ΔE(A ˜ -X ˜ ). 2-FPhSH shows some clear spectroscopic and photophysical differences. Intramolecular H-bonding ensures that most 2-FPhSH molecules exist as the syn rotamer, for which the electronic structure calculations return a substantial barrier to tunnelling from the photoexcited 11ππ* state to the 11πσ* continuum. The 11ππ* ← S0 excitation spectrum of syn-2-FPhSH thus exhibits resolved vibronic structure, enabling photolysis studies with a greater parent state selectivity. Structure apparent in the TKER spectrum of the H + 2-FPhS products formed when exciting at the 11ππ* ← S0 origin is interpreted by assuming unintended photoexcitation of an overlapping resonance associated with syn-2-FPhSH(v33 = 1) molecules. The present data offer tantalising hints that such out-of-plane motion influences non-adiabatic coupling in the vicinity of a conical intersection (between the 11πσ* and ground state potentials at extended S-H bond lengths) and thus the electronic branching in the eventual radical products.

Theoretical studies for excited-state tautomerization in the 7-azaindole-(CH3OH)n (n = 1 and 2) complexes in the gas phase.

PubMed

Fang, Hua; Kim, Yongho

2011-12-01

The excited-state tautomerization of 7-azaindole (7AI) complexes bonded with either one or two methanol molecule(s) was studied by systematic quantum mechanical calculations in the gas phases. Electronic structures and energies for the reactant, transition state (TS), and product were computed at the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) levels with the second-order multireference perturbation theory (MRPT2) to consider the dynamic electron correlation. The time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) was also used for comparison. The excited-state double proton transfer (ESDPT) in 7AI-CH(3)OH occurs in a concerted but asynchronous mechanism. Similarly, such paths are also found in the two transition states during the excited-state triple proton transfer (ESTPT) of the 7AI-(CH(3)OH)(2) complex. In the first TS, the pyrrole ring proton first migrated to methanol, while in the second the methanol proton moved first to the pyridine ring. The CASSCF level with the MRPT2 correction showed that the former path was much preferable to the latter, and the ESDPT is much slower than the ESTPT. Additionally, the vibrational-mode enhanced tautomerization in the 7AI-(CH(3)OH)(2) complex was also studied. We found that the excitation of the low-frequency mode shortens the reaction path to increase the tautomerization rate. Overall, most TDDFT methods used in this study predicted different TS structures and barriers from the CASSCF methods with MRPT2 corrections. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Structural control and health monitoring of building structures with unknown ground excitations: Experimental investigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Jia; Xu, You-Lin; Zhan, Sheng; Huang, Qin

2017-03-01

When health monitoring system and vibration control system both are required for a building structure, it will be beneficial and cost-effective to integrate these two systems together for creating a smart building structure. Recently, on the basis of extended Kalman filter (EKF), a time-domain integrated approach was proposed for the identification of structural parameters of the controlled buildings with unknown ground excitations. The identified physical parameters and structural state vectors were then utilized to determine the control force for vibration suppression. In this paper, the possibility of establishing such a smart building structure with the function of simultaneous damage detection and vibration suppression was explored experimentally. A five-story shear building structure equipped with three magneto-rheological (MR) dampers was built. Four additional columns were added to the building model, and several damage scenarios were then simulated by symmetrically cutting off these columns in certain stories. Two sets of earthquakes, i.e. Kobe earthquake and Northridge earthquake, were considered as seismic input and assumed to be unknown during the tests. The structural parameters and the unknown ground excitations were identified during the tests by using the proposed identification method with the measured control forces. Based on the identified structural parameters and system states, a switching control law was employed to adjust the current applied to the MR dampers for the purpose of vibration attenuation. The experimental results show that the presented approach is capable of satisfactorily identifying structural damages and unknown excitations on one hand and significantly mitigating the structural vibration on the other hand.

Ultrafast internal conversion dynamics of highly excited pyrrole studied with VUV/UV pump probe spectroscopy.

PubMed

Horton, Spencer L; Liu, Yusong; Chakraborty, Pratip; Matsika, Spiridoula; Weinacht, Thomas

2017-02-14

We study the relaxation dynamics of pyrrole after excitation with an 8 eV pump pulse to a state just 0.2 eV below the ionization potential using vacuum ultraviolet/ultraviolet pump probe spectroscopy. Our measurements in conjunction with electronic structure calculations indicate that pyrrole undergoes rapid internal conversion to the ground state in less than 300 fs. We find that internal conversion to the ground state dominates over dissociation.

Study of 162Er via the (p , t) and (p ,p') reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kisliuk, D.; Garrett, P. E.; Finlay, A.; Bianco, L.; Bildstein, V.; Burbadge, C.; Chagnon-Lessard, S.; Diaz Varela, A.; Dunlop, M. R.; Dunlop, R.; Finlay, P.; Jamieson, D.; Jigmeddorj, B.; Maclean, A. D.; Michetti-Wilson, J.; Leach, K. G.; Radich, A. J.; Rand, E.; Svensson, C. E.; Wong, J.; Ball, G. C.; Triambak, S.; Faestermann, T.; Hertenberger, R.; Wirth, H.-F.

2015-10-01

The nature of excited states in well-deformed nuclei pose a challenge in nuclear structure. In light of this, the study of 162Er via the 164Er (p , t) and 162Er (p ,p') reactions has been initiated to shed light on the structure of these excited states. The experiments were performed at the Maier-Leibnitz Laboratory using a 22 MeV proton beam on highly-enriched targets of 162,164Er and the reaction was analyzed with the Q3D spectrograph. Strong population in the (p , t) reaction of the 02+ state, far greater than other 0+ states, has been observed. Transition matrix elements for population of low-lying states in the (p ,p') reaction have also been extracted. Initial results from these experiments will be presented.

Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering and photoemission measurement of O2: Direct evidence for dependence of Rydberg-valence mixing on vibrational states in O 1s → Rydberg states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gejo, T.; Oura, M.; Tokushima, T.; Horikawa, Y.; Arai, H.; Shin, S.; Kimberg, V.; Kosugi, N.

2017-07-01

High-resolution resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) and low-energy photoemission spectra of oxygen molecules have been measured for investigating the electronic structure of Rydberg states in the O 1s → σ* energy region. The electronic characteristics of each Rydberg state have been successfully observed, and new assignments are made for several states. The RIXS spectra clearly show that vibrational excitation is very sensitive to the electronic characteristics because of Rydberg-valence mixing and vibronic coupling in O2. This observation constitutes direct experimental evidence that the Rydberg-valence mixing characteristic depends on the vibrational excitation near the avoided crossing of potential surfaces. We also measured the photoemission spectra of metastable oxygen atoms (O*) from O2 excited to 1s → Rydberg states. The broadening of the 4p Rydberg states of O* has been found with isotropic behavior, implying that excited oxygen molecules undergo dissociation with a lifetime of the order of 10 fs in 1s → Rydberg states.

Ne matrix spectra of the sym-C6Br3F3+ radical cation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bondybey, V.E.; Sears, T.J.; Miller, T.A.; Vaughn, C.; English, J.H.; Shiley, R.S.

1981-01-01

The electronic absorption and laser excited, wavelength resolved fluorescence spectra of the title cation have been observed in solid Ne matrix and vibrationally analysed. The vibrational structure of the excited B2A2??? state shows close similarity to the parent compound. The X2E??? ground state structure is strongly perturbed and irregular owing to a large Jahn-Teller distortion. The data are analysed in terms of a recently developed, sophisticated multimode Jahn-Teller theoretical model. We have generated the sym-C6Br3F3+ cations in solid Ne matrix and obtained their wavelength resolved emission and absorption spectra. T ground electronic X2E??? state exhibits an irregular and strongly perturbed vibrational structure, which can be successfully modeled using sophisticated multimode Jahn-Teller theory. ?? 1981.

Sibling rivalry: intrinsic luminescence from two xanthene dye monoanions, resorufin and fluorescein, provides evidence for excited-state proton transfer in the latter.

PubMed

Kjær, Christina; Brøndsted Nielsen, Steen; Stockett, Mark H

2017-09-20

While the emission spectrum of fluorescein monoanions isolated in vacuo displays a broad and featureless band, that of resorufin, also belonging to the xanthene family, has a sharp band maximum, clear vibronic structure, and experiences a small Stokes shift. Excited-state proton transfer in fluorescein can account for the differences.

Magnetic moments of excited states in nuclei far from stability

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wolf, A.; Berant, Z.; Gill, R.L.

1985-01-01

Magnetic moments of excited states in nuclei far from stability have been measured by gamma-gamma angular correlation at the output of the fission product separators TRISTAN and JOSEF. The results obtained until now will be reviewed. They provide important nuclear structure information about nuclei around closed shells, and transitional nuclei in the A = 100 and 150 regions. 22 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs.

Far-infrared laser magnetic resonance of vibrationally excited CD2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Evenson, K. M.; Sears, T. J.; Mckellar, A. R. W.

1984-01-01

The detection of 13 rotational transitions in the first excited bending state (010) of CD2 using the technique of far-infrared laser magnetic resonance spectroscopy is reported. Molecular parameters for this state are determined from these new data together with existing infrared observations of the v(2) band. Additional information on the ground vibrational state (000) is also provided by the observation of a new rotational transition, and this is combined with existing data to provide a refined set of molecular parameters for the CD2 ground state. One spectrum has been observed that is assigned as a rotational transition within the first excited symmetric stretching state (100) of CD2. These data will be of use in refining the structure and the potential function of the methylene radical.

Spin-orbit excitations and electronic structure of the putative Kitaev magnet α -RuCl3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sandilands, Luke J.; Tian, Yao; Reijnders, Anjan A.; Kim, Heung-Sik; Plumb, K. W.; Kim, Young-June; Kee, Hae-Young; Burch, Kenneth S.

2016-02-01

Mott insulators with strong spin-orbit coupling have been proposed to host unconventional magnetic states, including the Kitaev quantum spin liquid. The 4 d system α -RuCl3 has recently come into view as a candidate Kitaev system, with evidence for unusual spin excitations in magnetic scattering experiments. We apply a combination of optical spectroscopy and Raman scattering to study the electronic structure of this material. Our measurements reveal a series of orbital excitations involving localized total angular momentum states of the Ru ion, implying that strong spin-orbit coupling and electron-electron interactions coexist in this material. Analysis of these features allows us to estimate the spin-orbit coupling strength, as well as other parameters describing the local electronic structure, revealing a well-defined hierarchy of energy scales within the Ru d states. By comparing our experimental results with density functional theory calculations, we also clarify the overall features of the optical response. Our results demonstrate that α -RuCl3 is an ideal material system to study spin-orbit coupled magnetism on the honeycomb lattice.

Combined TDDFT and AIM Insights into Photoinduced Excited State Intramolecular Proton Transfer (ESIPT) Mechanism in Hydroxyl- and Amino-Anthraquinone Solution.

PubMed

Zheng, Daoyuan; Zhang, Mingzhen; Zhao, Guangjiu

2017-10-23

Time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) and atoms in molecules (AIM) theory are combined to study the photoinduced excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) dynamics for eight anthraquinones (AQs) derivatives in solution. The calculated absorption and emission spectra are consistent with the available experimental data, verifying the suitability of the theory selected. The systems with the excited-state exothermic proton transfer, such as 1-HAQ, 1,5-DHAQ and TFAQ, emit completely from transfer structure (T), while the reactions for those without ESIPT including 1,4-DHAQ and AAAQ appear to be endothermic. Three reaction properties of three systems (1,8-DHAQ, DCAQ and CAAQ) are between the exothermic and endothermic, sensitive to the solvent. Energy scanning shows that 1,4-DHAQ and AAAQ exhibit the higher ESIPT energy barriers compared to 1-HAQ, 1,5-DHAQ and TFAQ with the "barrierless" ESIPT process. The ESIPT process is facilitated by the strengthening of hydrogen bonds in excited state. With AIM theory, it is observed that the change in electrons density ρ(r) and potential energy density V(r) at BCP position between ground state and excited state are crucial factors to quantitatively elucidate the ESIPT.

Ultrafast coherence transfer in DNA-templated silver nanoclusters

PubMed Central

Thyrhaug, Erling; Bogh, Sidsel Ammitzbøll; Carro-Temboury, Miguel R; Madsen, Charlotte Stahl; Vosch, Tom; Zigmantas, Donatas

2017-01-01

DNA-templated silver nanoclusters of a few tens of atoms or less have come into prominence over the last several years due to very strong absorption and efficient emission. Applications in microscopy and sensing have already been realized, however little is known about the excited-state structure and dynamics in these clusters. Here we report on a multidimensional spectroscopy investigation of the energy-level structure and the early-time relaxation cascade, which eventually results in the population of an emitting state. We find that the ultrafast intramolecular relaxation is strongly coupled to a specific vibrational mode, resulting in the concerted transfer of population and coherence between excited states on a sub-100 fs timescale. PMID:28548085

The spectroscopy of singlets and triplets excites electronic states, spatial and electronic structure of hydrocarbons and quantum classifications in chemmotology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obukhov, A. E.

2017-01-01

In this work we demonstrate the physical foundations of the spectroscopy of the grounds states: E- and X-ray, (RR) Raman scattering the NMR 1H and 13C and IR-, EPR- absorption and the singlets and triplets electronic excited states in the multinuclear hydrocarbons in chemmotology. The parameters of UV-absorption, RR-Raman scattering of light, the fluorescence and the phosphorescence and day-lasers at the pumping laser and lamp, OLEDs and OTETs- are measurements. The spectral-energy properties are briefly studied. The quantum-chemical LCAO-MO SCF expanded-CI PPP/S and INDO/S methods in the electronic and spatial structure hidrocarbons are considered.

Structure of the nucleon's low-lying excitations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Chen; El-Bennich, Bruno; Roberts, Craig D.; Schmidt, Sebastian M.; Segovia, Jorge; Wan, Shaolong

2018-02-01

A continuum approach to the three valence-quark bound-state problem in quantum field theory is used to perform a comparative study of the four lightest (I =1 /2 ,JP=1 /2±) baryon isospin doublets in order to elucidate their structural similarities and differences. Such analyses predict the presence of nonpointlike, electromagnetically active quark-quark (diquark) correlations within all baryons; and in these doublets, isoscalar-scalar, isovector-pseudovector, isoscalar-pseudoscalar, and vector diquarks can all play a role. In the two lightest (1 /2 ,1 /2+) doublets, however, scalar and pseudovector diquarks are overwhelmingly dominant. The associated rest-frame wave functions are largely S -wave in nature; and the first excited state in this 1 /2+ channel has the appearance of a radial excitation of the ground state. The two lightest (1 /2 ,1 /2-) doublets fit a different picture: accurate estimates of their masses are obtained by retaining only pseudovector diquarks; in their rest frames, the amplitudes describing their dressed-quark cores contain roughly equal fractions of even- and odd-parity diquarks; and the associated wave functions are predominantly P -wave in nature, but possess measurable S -wave components. Moreover, the first excited state in each negative-parity channel has little of the appearance of a radial excitation. In quantum field theory, all differences between positive- and negative-parity channels must owe to chiral symmetry breaking, which is overwhelmingly dynamical in the light-quark sector. Consequently, experiments that can validate the contrasts drawn herein between the structure of the four lightest (1 /2 ,1 /2±) doublets will prove valuable in testing links between emergent mass generation and observable phenomena and, plausibly, thereby revealing dynamical features of confinement.

Elucidating the Nature of the Excited State of a Heteroleptic Copper Photosensitizer by using Time-Resolved X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy.

PubMed

Moonshiram, Dooshaye; Garrido-Barros, Pablo; Gimbert-Suriñach, Carolina; Picón, Antonio; Liu, Cunming; Zhang, Xiaoyi; Karnahl, Michael; Llobet, Antoni

2018-04-25

We report the light-induced electronic and geometric changes taking place within a heteroleptic Cu I photosensitizer, namely [(xant)Cu(Me 2 phenPh 2 )]PF 6 (xant=xantphos, Me 2 phenPh 2 =bathocuproine), by time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy in the ps-μs time regime. Time-resolved X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis enabled the elucidation of the electronic and structural configuration of the copper center in the excited state as well as its decay dynamics in different solvent conditions with and without triethylamine acting as a sacrificial electron donor. A three-fold decrease in the decay lifetime of the excited state is observed in the presence of triethylamine, showing the feasibility of the reductive quenching pathway in the latter case. A prominent pre-edge feature is observed in the XANES spectrum of the excited state upon metal to charge ligand transfer transition, showing an increased hybridization of the 3d states with the ligand p orbitals in the tetrahedron around the Cu center. EXAFS and density functional theory illustrate a significant shortening of the Cu-N and an elongation of the Cu-P bonds together with a decrease in the torsional angle between the xantphos and bathocuproine ligand. This study provides mechanistic time-resolved understanding for the development of improved heteroleptic Cu I photosensitizers, which can be used for the light-driven production of hydrogen from water. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Searching for a 4 α linear-chain structure in excited states of 16O with covariant density functional theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, J. M.; Itagaki, N.; Meng, J.

2014-11-01

A study of the 4 α linear-chain structure in high-lying collective excitation states of 16O with covariant density functional theory is presented. The low-spin states are obtained by configuration mixing of particle-number and angular-momentum projected quadrupole deformed mean-field states with the generator coordinate method. The high-spin states are determined by cranking calculations. These two calculations are based on the same energy density functional PC-PK1. We have found a rotational band at low spin with the dominant intrinsic configuration considered to be the one whereby 4 α clusters stay along a common axis. The strongly deformed rod shape also appears in the high-spin region with the angular momentum 13 ℏ to18 ℏ ; however, whether the state is a pure 4 α linear chain is less obvious than for the low-spin states.

Rotational excitation of the Hoyle state in 12C

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garg, R.; Barton, C.; Diget, C. Aa; Courtin, S.; Fruet, G.; Fynbo, H. O. U.; Howard, A.; Illana, A.; Jenkins, D. G.; Marroquin, I.; Kirsebom, O. S.; Lund, M. V.; Moore, I.; Perea, A.; Refsgaard, J.; Riley, J. E.; Rinta-Antila, S.; Sinclair, L.; Tengblad, O.; IGISOL Collaboration

2018-01-01

12C is synthesised in stars by fusion of three α particles. This process occurs through a resonance in the 12C nucleus, famously known as the Hoyle state. In this state, the 12C nucleus exists as a cluster of α particles. The state is the band-head for a rotational band with the 2+ rotational excitation predicted in the energy region 9 - 11 MeV. This rotational excitation can affect the triple-α process reaction rate by more than an order of magnitude at high temperatures (109 K). Depending on the energy of the resonance, the knowledge of the state can also help determine the structure of the Hoyle state. In the work presented here, the state of interest is populated by beta decay of radioactive 12N ion beam delivered by the IGISOL facility at JYFL, Jyväskylä.

Avoided crossings, conical intersections, and low-lying excited states with a single reference method: the restricted active space spin-flip configuration interaction approach.

PubMed

Casanova, David

2012-08-28

The restricted active space spin-flip CI (RASCI-SF) performance is tested in the electronic structure computation of the ground and the lowest electronically excited states in the presence of near-degeneracies. The feasibility of the method is demonstrated by analyzing the avoided crossing between the ionic and neutral singlet states of LiF along the molecular dissociation. The two potential energy surfaces (PESs) are explored by means of the energies of computed adiabatic and approximated diabatic states, dipole moments, and natural orbital electronic occupancies of both states. The RASCI-SF methodology is also used to study the ground and first excited singlet surface crossing involved in the double bond isomerization of ethylene, as a model case. The two-dimensional PESs of the ground (S(0)) and excited (S(1)) states are calculated for the complete configuration space of torsion and pyramidalization molecular distortions. The parameters that define the state energetics in the vicinity of the S(0)/S(1) conical intersection region are compared to complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) results. These examples show that it is possible to describe strongly correlated electronic states using a single reference methodology without the need to expand the wavefunction to high levels of collective excitations. Finally, RASCI is also examined in the electronic structure characterization of the ground and 2(1)A(g)(-), 1(1)B(u)(+), 1(1)B(u)(-), and 1(3)B(u)(-) states of all-trans polyenes with two to seven double bonds and beyond. Transition energies are compared to configuration interaction singles, time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT), CASSCF, and its second-order perturbation correction calculations, and to experimental data. The capability of RASCI-SF to describe the nature and properties of each electronic state is discussed in detail. This example is also used to expose the properties of different truncations of the RASCI wavefunction and to show the possibility to use an excitation operator with any number of α-to-β electronic promotions.

Polarization-Dependent Interference of Coherent Scattering from Orthogonal Dipole Moments of a Resonantly Excited Quantum Dot.

PubMed

Chen, Disheng; Lander, Gary R; Solomon, Glenn S; Flagg, Edward B

2017-01-20

Resonant photoluminescence excitation (RPLE) spectra of a neutral InGaAs quantum dot show unconventional line shapes that depend on the detection polarization. We characterize this phenomenon by performing polarization-dependent RPLE measurements and simulating the measured spectra with a three-level quantum model. The spectra are explained by interference between fields coherently scattered from the two fine structure split exciton states, and the measurements enable extraction of the steady-state coherence between the two exciton states.

Sub-50 fs excited state dynamics of 6-chloroguanine upon deep ultraviolet excitation.

PubMed

Mondal, Sayan; Puranik, Mrinalini

2016-05-18

The photophysical properties of natural nucleobases and their respective nucleotides are ascribed to the sub-picosecond lifetime of their first singlet states in the UV-B region (260-350 nm). Electronic transitions of the ππ* type, which are stronger than those in the UV-B region, lie at the red edge of the UV-C range (100-260 nm) in all isolated nucleobases. The lowest energetic excited states in the UV-B region of nucleobases have been investigated using a plethora of experimental and theoretical methods in gas and solution phases. The sub-picosecond lifetime of these molecules is not a general attribute of all nucleobases but specific to the five primary nucleobases and a few xanthine and methylated derivatives. To determine the overall UV photostability, we aim to understand the effect of more energetic photons lying in the UV-C region on nucleobases. To determine the UV-C initiated photophysics of a nucleobase system, we chose a halogen substituted purine, 6-chloroguanine (6-ClG), that we had investigated previously using resonance Raman spectroscopy. We have performed quantitative measurements of the resonance Raman cross-section across the Bb absorption band (210-230 nm) and constructed the Raman excitation profiles. We modeled the excitation profiles using Lee and Heller's time-dependent theory of resonance Raman intensities to extract the initial excited state dynamics of 6-ClG within 30-50 fs after photoexcitation. We found that imidazole and pyrimidine rings of 6-ClG undergo expansion and contraction, respectively, following photoexcitation to the Bb state. The amount of distortions of the excited state structure from that of the ground state structure is reflected by the total internal reorganization energy that is determined at 112 cm(-1). The contribution of the inertial component of the solvent response towards the total reorganization energy was obtained at 1220 cm(-1). In addition, our simulation also yields an instantaneous response of the first solvation shell within an ultrafast timescale of less than 30 fs following photoexcitation.

Excited state electronic polarization and reappraisal of the n ← π∗ emission of acetone in water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orozco-González, Yoelvis; Coutinho, Kaline; Canuto, Sylvio

2010-10-01

Electronic polarization of the acetone molecule in the excited n → π∗ state is considered and its influence on the solvent shift in the emission spectrum is analyzed. Using an iterative procedure the electronic polarizations of both the ground and the excited states are included and compared with previous results obtained with Car-Parrinello dynamics. Analysis of the emission transition obtained using CIS(D)/aug-cc-pVDZ on statistically uncorrelated solute-solvent structures, composed of acetone and twelve explicit water molecules embedded in the electrostatic field of remaining 263 water molecules, corroborates that the solvent effect is mild, calculated here between 80 and 380 cm -1.

Nucleon resonance structure studies via exclusive KY electroproduction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carman, Daniel S.

Studying the structure of excited nucleon states employing the electroproduction of exclusive reactions is an important avenue for exploring the nature of the non-perturbative strong interaction. The electrocouplings ofmore » $N^*$ states in the mass range below 1.8~GeV have been determined from analyses of CLAS $$\\pi N$$, $$\\eta N$$, and $$\\pi \\pi N$$ data. This work has made it clear that consistent results from independent analyses of several exclusive channels with different couplings and non-resonant backgrounds but the same $N^*$ electro excitation amplitudes, is essential to have confidence in the extracted results. In terms of hadronic coupling, many high-lying $N^*$ states preferentially decay through the $$\\pi \\pi N$$ channel instead of $$\\pi N$$. Data from the $KY$ channels will therefore be critical to provide an independent analysis to compare the extracted electrocouplings for the high-lying $N^*$ states against those determined from the $$\\pi N$$ and $$\\pi \\pi N$$ channels. Lastly, a program to study excited $N^*$ state structure in both non-strange and strange exclusive electroproduction channels using CLAS12 will measure differential cross sections and polarization observables to be used as input to extract the $$\\gamma_vNN^*$$ electrocoupling amplitudes for the most prominent $N^*$ states in the range of invariant energy $W$ up 3~GeV in the virtually unexplored domain of momentum transfers $Q^2$ up to 12~GeV$^2$.« less

Nucleon resonance structure studies via exclusive KY electroproduction

DOE PAGES

Carman, Daniel S.

2016-06-16

Studying the structure of excited nucleon states employing the electroproduction of exclusive reactions is an important avenue for exploring the nature of the non-perturbative strong interaction. The electrocouplings ofmore » $N^*$ states in the mass range below 1.8~GeV have been determined from analyses of CLAS $$\\pi N$$, $$\\eta N$$, and $$\\pi \\pi N$$ data. This work has made it clear that consistent results from independent analyses of several exclusive channels with different couplings and non-resonant backgrounds but the same $N^*$ electro excitation amplitudes, is essential to have confidence in the extracted results. In terms of hadronic coupling, many high-lying $N^*$ states preferentially decay through the $$\\pi \\pi N$$ channel instead of $$\\pi N$$. Data from the $KY$ channels will therefore be critical to provide an independent analysis to compare the extracted electrocouplings for the high-lying $N^*$ states against those determined from the $$\\pi N$$ and $$\\pi \\pi N$$ channels. Lastly, a program to study excited $N^*$ state structure in both non-strange and strange exclusive electroproduction channels using CLAS12 will measure differential cross sections and polarization observables to be used as input to extract the $$\\gamma_vNN^*$$ electrocoupling amplitudes for the most prominent $N^*$ states in the range of invariant energy $W$ up 3~GeV in the virtually unexplored domain of momentum transfers $Q^2$ up to 12~GeV$^2$.« less

Distinguishing between relaxation pathways by combining dissociative ionization pump probe spectroscopy and ab initio calculations: a case study of cytosine.

PubMed

Kotur, Marija; Weinacht, Thomas C; Zhou, Congyi; Kistler, Kurt A; Matsika, Spiridoula

2011-05-14

We present a general method for tracking molecular relaxation along different pathways from an excited state down to the ground state. We follow the excited state dynamics of cytosine pumped near the S(0)-S(1) resonance using ultrafast laser pulses in the deep ultraviolet and probed with strong field near infrared pulses which ionize and dissociate the molecules. The fragment ions are detected via time of flight mass spectroscopy as a function of pump probe delay and probe pulse intensity. Our measurements reveal that different molecular fragments show different timescales, indicating that there are multiple relaxation pathways down to the ground state. We interpret our measurements with the help of ab initio electronic structure calculations of both the neutral molecule and the molecular cation for different conformations en route to relaxation back down to the ground state. Our measurements and calculations show passage through two seams of conical intersections between ground and excited states and demonstrate the ability of dissociative ionization pump probe measurements in conjunction with ab initio electronic structure calculations to track molecular relaxation through multiple pathways.

Comprehensive investigation of the excited-state dynamics of push-pull triphenylamine dyes as models for photonic applications.

PubMed

Ishow, Eléna; Clavier, Gilles; Miomandre, Fabien; Rebarz, Mateusz; Buntinx, Guy; Poizat, Olivier

2013-09-07

A series of emitting push-pull triarylamine derivatives, models of their widely used homologues in photonics and organic electronics, was investigated by steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy. Their structural originality stems from the sole change of the electron-withdrawing substituent X (-H: 1, -CN: 2, -NO2: 3, -CHC(CN)2: 4), giving rise to efficient emission tuning from blue to red upon increasing the X electron-withdrawing character. All compounds are highly fluorescent in alkanes. The more polar compounds 2-4 undergo considerable Stokes shift and emission quenching in polar solvents. Femtosecond transient absorption data allowed us to identify the nature of the emissive state which varies as a function of the compound and surrounding polarity. A long-lived ππ* excited state with weak charge transfer character was found for 1. This excited state evolves into a long-lived ICT state with red-shifted emission for 2 in polar solvents. For 3 and 4, the ICT state is directly populated in all solvents. Long-lived and emissive in n-hexane, it relaxes in toluene to a new ICT' conformation with stronger charge transfer character and enhanced Stokes shift. In more polar THF, ethanol, and nitrile solvents, ICT relaxes to a dark excited state ICT'' with viscosity-dependent kinetics (<10 ps). The ICT'' state lifetime drops with increasing solvent polarity (150 ps for 3 in THF, 8.5 ps in butyronitrile, 1.9 ps in acetonitrile), denoting an efficient radiationless deactivation to the ground state (back charge transfer). This result reveals a very small S0-S1 energy gap at the relaxed ICT'' geometry, with a possible close-lying S0-S1 conical intersection, which suggests that the ICT → ICT'' process results from a structural change involving a large-amplitude molecular distortion. This fast structural change can account for the strong fluorescence quenching observed for 3 and 4 in polar solvents. Finally, the magnitude of intersystem crossing between the singlet and triplet excited states largely depends on the electron-deficient X unit and the solvent itself. These observations help one conclude on the prevailing role played by the electron-withdrawing groups and the surrounding polarity in the photophysical performances of triphenylamine derivatives, largely employed in numerous emissive solid-state devices.

Coherent wavepackets in the Fenna-Matthews-Olson complex are robust to excitonic-structure perturbations caused by mutagenesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maiuri, Margherita; Ostroumov, Evgeny E.; Saer, Rafael G.; Blankenship, Robert E.; Scholes, Gregory D.

2018-02-01

Femtosecond pulsed excitation of light-harvesting complexes creates oscillatory features in their response. This phenomenon has inspired a large body of work aimed at uncovering the origin of the coherent beatings and possible implications for function. Here we exploit site-directed mutagenesis to change the excitonic level structure in Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) complexes and compare the coherences using broadband pump-probe spectroscopy. Our experiments detect two oscillation frequencies with dephasing on a picosecond timescale—both at 77 K and at room temperature. By studying these coherences with selective excitation pump-probe experiments, where pump excitation is in resonance only with the lowest excitonic state, we show that the key contributions to these oscillations stem from ground-state vibrational wavepackets. These experiments explicitly show that the coherences—although in the ground electronic state—can be probed at the absorption resonances of other bacteriochlorophyll molecules because of delocalization of the electronic excitation over several chromophores.

Real-time observation of multi-mode vibronic coherence in pentafluoropyridine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kus, J. A.; Hüter, O.; Temps, F.

2017-07-01

The ultrafast dynamics of pentafluoropyridine in the 1 1B2 (ππ*) electronic state excited at λpump = 255 nm is investigated by femtosecond time-resolved time-of-flight mass spectrometry and photoelectron imaging spectroscopy. A pronounced, long-lived, and complex periodic modulation of the transient ion yield signal with contributions by four distinct frequency components, 72 cm-1, 144 cm-1, 251 cm-1, and 281 cm-1, is observed for up to 9 ps. The recorded photoelectron images display a spectral band from the excited 1 1B2 (ππ*) state only in the oscillation maxima; the signal is strongly reduced in the oscillation minima. Supported by electronic structure calculations at the RI-SCS-CC2 and XMCQDPT2 levels of theory, the oscillating components of the signal are identified as frequencies of b1 symmetry coupling modes in a vibronic coherence of the 1 1B2 (ππ*) and 1 1A2 (πσ*) electronic states. The optical excitation initiates regular and periodic wavepacket motion along those out-of-plane modes. In the distorted molecular structure, the initially excited state acquires substantial πσ* character that modulates the transition dipole moment for ionization and results in the observed oscillations.

NMR comparison of the native energy landscapes of DLC8 dimer and monomer.

PubMed

Krishna Mohan, P M; Barve, Maneesha; Chatterjee, Amarnath; Ghosh-Roy, Anindya; Hosur, Ramakrishna V

2008-04-01

Characterization of the low energy excited states on the energy landscape of a protein is one of the exciting and challenging problems in structural biology today. In this context, we present here residue level NMR description of the low energy excited states representing locally different alternative conformations in the dynein light chain protein, in its dimeric as well as monomeric forms. Important differences have been observed between the two cases and these are not necessarily restricted to the dimer interface. Simulations indicate that the low energy excited states are within a free energy of 2-3 kcal/mol above the native state. In both the monomer and the dimer the energy landscape is very sensitive to small pH perturbations. Nearly 25% of the residues (total of residues at pH 3.0 and 3.5 for the monomer, and at pH 7.0 and 6.0 for the dimer) access alternative conformations. The observations have been rationalized on the basis of protonation-deprotonation equilibria in the side chains; histidines in the case of the dimer and aspartates/glutamates in the case of the monomer. The possible relationship of the observed ruggedness of the native energy landscape with the protein structure, and its implications to protein adaptability and unfolding have been discussed.

Status in calculating electronic excited states in transition metal oxides from first principles.

PubMed

Bendavid, Leah Isseroff; Carter, Emily Ann

2014-01-01

Characterization of excitations in transition metal oxides is a crucial step in the development of these materials for photonic and optoelectronic applications. However, many transition metal oxides are considered to be strongly correlated materials, and their complex electronic structure is challenging to model with many established quantum mechanical techniques. We review state-of-the-art first-principles methods to calculate charged and neutral excited states in extended materials, and discuss their application to transition metal oxides. We briefly discuss developments in density functional theory (DFT) to calculate fundamental band gaps, and introduce time-dependent DFT, which can model neutral excitations. Charged excitations can be described within the framework of many-body perturbation theory based on Green's functions techniques, which predominantly employs the GW approximation to the self-energy to facilitate a feasible solution to the quasiparticle equations. We review the various implementations of the GW approximation and evaluate each approach in its calculation of fundamental band gaps of many transition metal oxides. We also briefly review the related Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE), which introduces an electron-hole interaction between GW-derived quasiparticles to describe accurately neutral excitations. Embedded correlated wavefunction theory is another framework used to model localized neutral or charged excitations in extended materials. Here, the electronic structure of a small cluster is modeled within correlated wavefunction theory, while its coupling to its environment is represented by an embedding potential. We review a number of techniques to represent this background potential, including electrostatic representations and electron density-based methods, and evaluate their application to transition metal oxides.

Promoting Singlet/triplet Exciton Transformation in Organic Optoelectronic Molecules: Role of Excited State Transition Configuration.

PubMed

Chen, Runfeng; Tang, Yuting; Wan, Yifang; Chen, Ting; Zheng, Chao; Qi, Yuanyuan; Cheng, Yuanfang; Huang, Wei

2017-07-24

Exciton transformation, a non-radiative process in changing the spin multiplicity of an exciton usually between singlet and triplet forms, has received much attention recently due to its crucial effects in manipulating optoelectronic properties for various applications. However, current understanding of exciton transformation mechanism does not extend far beyond a thermal equilibrium of two states with different multiplicity and it is a significant challenge to probe what exactly control the transformation between the highly active excited states. Here, based on the recent developments of three types of purely organic molecules capable of efficient spin-flipping, we perform ab initio structure/energy optimization and similarity/overlap extent analysis to theoretically explore the critical factors in controlling the transformation process of the excited states. The results suggest that the states having close energy levels and similar exciton characteristics with same transition configurations and high heteroatom participation are prone to facilitating exciton transformation. A basic guideline towards the molecular design of purely organic materials with facile exciton transformation ability is also proposed. Our discovery highlights systematically the critical importance of vertical transition configuration of excited states in promoting the singlet/triplet exciton transformation, making a key step forward in excited state tuning of purely organic optoelectronic materials.

Neutron knockout from 68,70Ni ground and isomeric states.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Recchia, F.; Weisshaar, D.; Gade, A.; Tostevin, J. A.; Janssens, R. V. F.; Albers, M.; Bader, V. M.; Baugher, T.; Bazin, D.; Berryman, J. S.; Brown, B. A.; Campbell, C. M.; Carpenter, M. P.; Chen, J.; Chiara, C. J.; Crawford, H. L.; Hoffman, C. R.; Kondev, F. G.; Korichi, A.; Langer, C.; Lauritsen, T.; Liddick, S. N.; Lunderberg, E.; Noji, S.; Prokop, C.; Stroberg, S. R.; Suchyta, S.; Wimmer, K.; Zhu, S.

2018-02-01

Neutron-rich isotopes are an important source of new information on nuclear physics. Specifically, the spin-isospin components in the nucleon-nucleon (NN) interaction, e.g., the proton-neutron tensor force, are expected to modify shell structure in exotic nuclei. These potential changes in the intrinsic shell structure are of fundamental interest. The study of the excitation energy of states corresponding to specific configurations in even-even isotopes, together with the single-particle character of the first excited states of odd-A, neutron-rich Ni isotopes, probes the evolution of the neutron orbitals around the Fermi surface as a function of the neutron number a step forward in the understanding of the region and the nature of the NN interaction at large N/Z ratios. In an experiment carried out at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory [1], new spectroscopic information was obtained for 68Ni and the distribution of single-particle strengths in 67,69Ni was characterized by means of single-neutron knockout from 68,70Ni secondary beams. The spectroscopic strengths, deduced from the measured partial cross sections to the individual states tagged by their de-exciting gamma rays, is used to identify and quantify configurations that involve neutron excitations across the N = 40 harmonic oscillator shell closure. The de-excitation γ rays were measured with the GRETINA tracking array [2]. The results challenge the validity of the most current shell-model Hamiltonians and effective interactions, highlighting shortcomings that cannot yet be explained. These results suggest that our understanding of the low-energy states in such nuclei is not complete and requires further investigation.

Single-particle excitations in the level structure of 64Cu

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samanta, S.; Das, S.; Bhattacharjee, R.; Chatterjee, S.; Raut, R.; Ghugre, S. S.; Sinha, A. K.; Garg, U.; Neelam, Kumar, N.; Jones, P.; Laskar, Md. Sazedur R.; Babra, F. S.; Biswas, S.; Saha, S.; Singh, P.; Palit, R.

2018-01-01

Excited states of the 64Cu(Z =29 ,N =35 ) nucleus have been probed using heavy-ion-induced fusion evaporation reaction and an array of Compton-suppressed Clovers as detection system for the emitted γ rays. More than 50 new transitions have been identified and the level scheme of the nucleus has been established up to an excitation energy Ex˜6 MeV and spin ˜10 ℏ . The experimental results have been compared with those from large-basis shell-model calculations that facilitated an understanding of the single-particle configurations underlying the level structure of the nucleus.

Early events associated with the excited state proton transfer in 2-(2{sup '}-pyridyl)benzimidazole

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Burai, Tarak Nath; Mukherjee, Tushar Kanti; Lahiri, Priyanka

2009-07-21

2-(2{sup '}-pyridyl)benzimidazole (2PBI) undergoes excited state proton transfer (ESPT) in acidic solutions, leading to a tautomer emission at 460 nm. This photoprocess has been studied using ultrafast fluorescence spectroscopic techniques in acidic neat aqueous solutions, in viscous mixtures of glycerol with water, as well as in sucrose solutions. The tautomer is found to be stabilized in the more viscous medium, leading to a greater relative quantum yield as well as lifetime. The long rise time in tautomer emission is not affected by viscosity though. Rather, it appears to have the same value as the long component of the decay ofmore » the cationic excited state (C*). In addition to the subnanosecond lifetime reported earlier, C* is found to exhibit a decay time of 2 ps. This is assigned to its protonation to form the nonfluorescent dication in its excited state (D*) considering the ground and excited state pK{sub a} values reported earlier. An additional rising component of 100 ps is observed in the region of C* emission. This is likely to arise from a structural change or charge redistribution in C* immediately after its creation and before the phototautomerization.« less

Synthetic Control of Exciton Behavior in Colloidal Quantum Dots.

PubMed

Pu, Chaodan; Qin, Haiyan; Gao, Yuan; Zhou, Jianhai; Wang, Peng; Peng, Xiaogang

2017-03-08

Colloidal quantum dots are promising optical and optoelectronic materials for various applications, whose performance is dominated by their excited-state properties. This article illustrates synthetic control of their excited states. Description of the excited states of quantum-dot emitters can be centered around exciton. We shall discuss that, different from conventional molecular emitters, ground-state structures of quantum dots are not necessarily correlated with their excited states. Synthetic control of exciton behavior heavily relies on convenient and affordable monitoring tools. For synthetic development of ideal optical and optoelectronic emitters, the key process is decay of band-edge excitons, which renders transient photoluminescence as important monitoring tool. On the basis of extensive synthetic developments in the past 20-30 years, synthetic control of exciton behavior implies surface engineering of quantum dots, including surface cation/anion stoichiometry, organic ligands, inorganic epitaxial shells, etc. For phosphors based on quantum dots doped with transition metal ions, concentration and location of the dopant ions within a nanocrystal lattice are found to be as important as control of the surface states in order to obtain bright dopant emission with monoexponential yet tunable photoluminescence decay dynamics.

Carbene based photochemical molecular assemblies for solar driven hydrogen generation.

PubMed

Peuntinger, Katrin; Pilz, T David; Staehle, Robert; Schaub, Markus; Kaufhold, Simon; Petermann, Lydia; Wunderlin, Markus; Görls, Helmar; Heinemann, Frank W; Li, Jing; Drewello, Thomas; Vos, Johannes G; Guldi, Dirk M; Rau, Sven

2014-09-28

Novel photocatalysts based on ruthenium complexes with NHC (N-heterocyclic carbene)-type bridging ligands have been prepared and structurally and photophysically characterised. The identity of the NHC-unit of the bridging ligand was established unambiguously by means of X-ray structural analysis of a heterodinuclear ruthenium-silver complex. The photophysical data indicate ultrafast intersystem crossing into an emissive and a non-emissive triplet excited state after excitation of the ruthenium centre. Exceptionally high luminescence quantum yields of up to 39% and long lifetimes of up to 2 μs are some of the triplet excited state characteristics. Preliminary studies into the visible light driven photocatalytic hydrogen formation show no induction phase and constant turnover frequencies that are independent on the concentration of the photocatalyst. In conclusion this supports the notion of a stable assembly under photocatalytic conditions.

Geometry optimization and excited state properties of the new symmetric (E)-Stilbene derivative for application in thermostable polarizing PVA-films: A combined experimental and DFT approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shahab, Siyamak; Almodarresiyeh, Hora Alhosseini; Filippovich, Liudmila; Hajikolaee, Fatemeh Haji; Kumar, Rakesh; Darroudi, Mahdieh; Mashayekhi, Mahsa

2016-09-01

In the present work, quantum-chemical calculations used for the structural analysis of the new symmetric (E)-Stilbene derivative: (Potassium 2,2‧-((ethane-1,2-diylbis(4,1-phenylene))bis(azanediyl))diacetate) (P) (Trans isomer) using DFT/B3LYP/LanL2MB level of theory. The FT-IR and 1H NMR spectra of the compound P are presented. The electronic absorption spectrum of the P in aqueous medium was calculated using TDB3LYP/LanL2MB method. The excitation energies, electronic transitions and oscillator strengths for studied structure have also been calculated. The experimental, calculated UV/Vis and emission spectra of the P are presented and discussed. The geometry optimization of the molecule P in excited state and its electronic spectrum was carried out by the same method. In excited state the molecule P loses its symmetry and becomes unstable form. First time on the basis of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and the new designed structure P thermostable polarizing film absorbing at λmax = 410 nm was created. Polarizing Efficiency (PE) of obtained film is 96% at Stretching Degree (Rs) 3.0. In oriented PVA-films is the phenomenon of anisotropy of thermal conductivity (λ||/λ⊥) which is very important for development of thermostable polarizing films.

Theoretical studies of ground and excited electronic States in a series of rhenium(i) bipyridine complexes containing diarylethynyl-based structure.

PubMed

Yang, Li; Ren, Ai-Min; Feng, Ji-Kang; Liu, Xiao-Dong; Ma, Yu-Guang; Zhang, Hong-Xing

2004-09-20

The photophysical properties, which vary as X is varied, of Re(I)-halide complexes (X2-bpy)ReICl(CO)3 (where X=ph, DAE, DNE, and DPE; ph = phenyl (1); DAE = di(amineoethynylbenzene) (2); DPE = di(phenylethynylbenzene) (3); DNE = di(nitroethynylbenzene) (4); bpy=2,2'bipyridine), are investigated using density functional theory (DFT). The electronic properties of the neutral molecules, in addition to the positive and negative ions, are studied using B3LYP functional. Excited singlet and triplet states are examined using time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). The low-lying excited-state geometries are optimized at the ab initio configuration interaction singlets level. As shown, the diarylethynyl-based structure is an integral component of the bpy pi-conjugated network, which results in a good planar structure. The occupied orbitals involved in the transitions have a significant mixture of metal Re and group Cl, and the lowest unoccupied orbital is a pi orbital, which extends from ligand bpy to diarylethynyl-based substituents. The luminescence for each complex originates from the lowest triplet excited states and is assigned to the mixing of MLCT and LLCT characters. Significant insights on the effects of these diarylethynyl conjugated structure and ending substituents (NH2, ph, and NO2) on absorption and emission spectra are observed by analysis of the results of the TDDFT method. The diarylethynyl-based pi-conjugated network makes both the absorption and emission spectra red-shifted compared with simple complex (bpy)ReICl(CO)3. Furthermore, an electron-releasing group (NH2) makes absorption and emission spectra blue-shift and an electron-withdrawing group (NO2) makes them red-shift. Copyright 2004 American Chemical Society

Probing ultrafast ππ*/nπ* internal conversion in organic chromophores via K-edge resonant absorption

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wolf, T. J. A.; Myhre, R. H.; Cryan, J. P.

Many photoinduced processes including photosynthesis and human vision happen in organic molecules and involve coupled femtosecond dynamics of nuclei and electrons. Organic molecules with heteroatoms often possess an important excited-state relaxation channel from an optically allowed ππ* to a dark nπ* state. The ππ*/nπ* internal conversion is difficult to investigate, as most spectroscopic methods are not exclusively sensitive to changes in the excited-state electronic structure. Here, we report achieving the required sensitivity by exploiting the element and site specificity of near-edge soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy. As a hole forms in the n orbital during ππ*/nπ* internal conversion, the absorption spectrummore » at the heteroatom K-edge exhibits an additional resonance. We demonstrate the concept using the nucleobase thymine at the oxygen K-edge, and unambiguously show that ππ*/nπ* internal conversion takes place within (60 ± 30) fs. Furthermore, high-level-coupled cluster calculations confirm the method’s impressive electronic structure sensitivity for excited-state investigations.« less

Probing ultrafast ππ*/nπ* internal conversion in organic chromophores via K-edge resonant absorption

DOE PAGES

Wolf, T. J. A.; Myhre, R. H.; Cryan, J. P.; ...

2017-06-22

Many photoinduced processes including photosynthesis and human vision happen in organic molecules and involve coupled femtosecond dynamics of nuclei and electrons. Organic molecules with heteroatoms often possess an important excited-state relaxation channel from an optically allowed ππ* to a dark nπ* state. The ππ*/nπ* internal conversion is difficult to investigate, as most spectroscopic methods are not exclusively sensitive to changes in the excited-state electronic structure. Here, we report achieving the required sensitivity by exploiting the element and site specificity of near-edge soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy. As a hole forms in the n orbital during ππ*/nπ* internal conversion, the absorption spectrummore » at the heteroatom K-edge exhibits an additional resonance. We demonstrate the concept using the nucleobase thymine at the oxygen K-edge, and unambiguously show that ππ*/nπ* internal conversion takes place within (60 ± 30) fs. Furthermore, high-level-coupled cluster calculations confirm the method’s impressive electronic structure sensitivity for excited-state investigations.« less

Resonant photoluminescence studies of carrier localisation in c-plane InGaN/GaN quantum well structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blenkhorn, W. E.; Schulz, S.; Tanner, D. S. P.; Oliver, R. A.; Kappers, M. J.; Humphreys, C. J.; Dawson, P.

2018-05-01

In this paper we report on changes in the form of the low temperature (12 K) photoluminescence spectra of an InGaN/GaN quantum well structure as a function of excitation photon energy. As the photon energy is progressively reduced we observe at a critical energy a change in the form of the spectra from one which is determined by the occupation of the complete distribution of hole localisation centres to one which is determined by the resonant excitation of specific localisation sites. This change is governed by an effective mobility edge whereby the photo-excited holes remain localised at their initial energy and are prevented from scattering to other localisation sites. This assignment is confirmed by the results of atomistic tight binding calculations which show that the wave function overlap of the lowest lying localised holes with other hole states is low compared with the overlap of higher lying hole states with other higher lying hole states.

Ultrafast Nonradiative Decay and Excitation Energy Transfer by Carotenoids in Photosynthetic Light-Harvesting Proteins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Soumen

This dissertation investigates the photophysical and structural dynamics that allow carotenoids to serve as efficient excitation energy transfer donor to chlorophyll acceptors in photosynthetic light harvesting proteins. Femtosecond transient grating spectroscopy with optical heterodyne detection has been employed to follow the nonradiative decay pathways of carotenoids and excitation energy transfer to chlorophylls. It was found that the optically prepared S2 (11Bu+) state of beta-carotene decays in 12 fs fs to populate an intermediate electronic state, Sx, which then decays nonradiatively to the S 1 state. The ultrafast rise of the dispersion component of the heterodyne transient grating signal reports the formation of Sx intermediate since the rise of the dispersion signal is controlled by the loss of stimulated emission from the S2 state. These findings were extended to studies of peridinin, a carbonyl substituted carotenoid that serves as a photosynthetic light-harvesting chromophore in dinoflagellates. Numerical simulations using nonlinear response formalism and the multimode Brownian oscillator model assigned the Sx intermediate to a torsionally distorted structure evolving on the S2 potential surface. The decay of the Sx state is promoted by large amplitude out-of-plane torsional motions and is significantly retarded by solvent friction owing to the development of an intramolecular charge transfer character in peridinin. The slowing of the nonradiative decay allows the Sx state to transfer significant portion of the excitation energy to chlorophyll a acceptors in the peridinin-chlorophyll a protein. The results of heterodyne transient grating study on peridinin-chlorophyll a protein suggests two distinct energy transfer channels from peridinin to chlorophyll a: a 30 fs process involving quantum coherence and delocalized peridinin-Chl states and an incoherent, 2.5 ps process involving the distorted S2 state of peridinin. The torsional evolution on the S2 state is accompanied by the formation of an ICT character and dynamic exciton localization, which controls the mechanism of excitation energy transfer to chlorophyll a acceptors in the peridinin-chlorophyll a protein.

Regular series of doubly excited states inside two-electron continua: Application to 2s2-hole states in neon above the Ne2+1s22s22p4 and 1s22s2p5 thresholds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Komninos, Yannis; Mercouris, Theodoros; Nicolaides, Cleanthes A.

2011-02-01

We report results of many-electron calculations that predict the presence of a regular series of autoionizing doubly excited states (DESs) of 1Posymmetry embedded inside one- as well as two-electron continua of neon, in the range of excitation 105.9-121.9 eV above the ground state. The limit of 121.9 eV represents the two-electron ionization threshold (TEIT) labeled by Ne2+ 1s22p6 1S. The wave functions of these unstable states and their properties are computed according to the theoretical framework, which is explained and justified in the text. Their formal structure is (ψcore)1S⊗Φ(r1→,r2→)1Po, where both ψcore and Φ(r⃗1,r⃗2) are correlated wave functions, the latter being represented reasonably accurately by a self-consistently obtained superposition of nsnp and np(n+1)d configurations n=3-7. By fitting the calculated lowest energies at each value of n, (five states), an effective hydrogenic formula is obtained, which gives the whole energy spectrum up to the TEIT. The autoionization widths are small and decrease with excitation energy. Oscillator strengths for the excitation of these narrow resonance states by absorption of one photon are also small. Because of their electronic structure, these states are compared to 1Po DESs in He, which were found in the 1980s to constitute a regular ladder with wave-function characteristics that tend to those of the so-called Wannier state at threshold. In the present case, the presence of the core and the concomitant interactions do not permit the emergence of such geometrical features.

Two-component Structure in the Entanglement Spectrum of Highly Excited States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Zhi-Cheng; Chamon, Claudio; Hamma, Alioscia; Mucciolo, Eduardo

We study the entanglement spectrum of highly excited eigenstates of two known models which exhibit a many-body localization transition, namely the one-dimensional random-field Heisenberg model and the quantum random energy model. Our results indicate that the entanglement spectrum shows a ``two-component'' structure: a universal part that is associated to Random Matrix Theory, and a non-universal part that is model dependent. The non-universal part manifests the deviation of the highly excited eigenstate from a true random state even in the thermalized phase where the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis holds. The fraction of the spectrum containing the universal part decreases continuously as one approaches the critical point and vanishes in the localized phase in the thermodynamic limit. We use the universal part fraction to construct a new order parameter for the many-body delocalized-to-localized transition. Two toy models based on Rokhsar-Kivelson type wavefunctions are constructed and their entanglement spectra are shown to exhibit the same structure.

Flight and analytical investigations of a structural mode excitation system on the YF-12A airplane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goforth, E. A.; Murphy, R. C.; Beranek, J. A.; Davis, R. A.

1987-01-01

A structural excitation system, using an oscillating canard vane to generate force, was mounted on the forebody of the YF-12A airplane. The canard vane was used to excite the airframe structural modes during flight in the subsonic, transonic, and supersonic regimes. Structural modal responses generated by the canard vane forces were measured at the flight test conditions by airframe-mounted accelerometers. Correlations of analytical and experimental aeroelastic results were made. Doublet lattice, steady state double lattice with uniform lag, Mach box, and piston theory all produced acceptable analytical aerodynamic results within the restrictions that apply to each. In general, the aerodynamic theory methods, carefully applied, were found to predict the dynamic behavior of the YF-12A aircraft adequately.

Experimental investigation of the Jahn-Teller effect in the ground and excited electronic states of the tropyl radical. Part II. Vibrational analysis of the A 2E"3-X 2E"2 electronic transition.

PubMed

Sioutis, Ilias; Stakhursky, Vadim L; Tarczay, György; Miller, Terry A

2008-02-28

Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and laser-excited dispersed fluorescence (LEDF) spectra of the cycloheptatrienyl (tropyl) radical C7H7 have been observed under supersonic jet-cooling conditions. Assignment of the LIF excitation spectrum yields detailed information about the A-state vibronic structure. The LEDF emission was collected by pumping different vibronic bands of the A 2E"3<--X 2E"2 electronic spectrum. Analysis of the LEDF spectra yields valuable information about the vibronic levels of the X 2E"2 state. The X- and A-state vibronic structures characterize the Jahn-Teller distortion of the respective potential energy surfaces. A thorough analysis reveals observable Jahn-Teller activity in three of the four e'3 modes for the X 2E"2 state and two of the three e'1 modes for the A 2E"3 state and provides values for their deperturbed vibrational frequencies as well as linear Jahn-Teller coupling constants. The molecular parameters characterizing the Jahn-Teller interaction in the X and A states of C7H7 are compared to theoretical results and to those previously obtained for C5H5 and C6H6+.

Synthesis, characterization, and spectroscopic investigation of benzoxazole conjugated Schiff bases.

PubMed

Santos, Fabiano S; Costa, Tania M H; Stefani, Valter; Gonçalves, Paulo F B; Descalzo, Rodrigo R; Benvenutti, Edilson V; Rodembusch, Fabiano S

2011-11-24

Two Schiff bases were synthesized by reaction of 2-(4'-aminophenyl)benzoxazole derivatives with 4-N,N-diethylaminobenzaldehyde. UV-visible (UV-vis) and steady-state fluorescence in solution were applied in order to characterize its photophysical behavior. The Schiff bases present absorption in the UV region with fluorescence emission in the blue-green region, with a large Stokes' shift. The UV-vis data indicates that each dye behaves as two different chromophores in solution in the ground state. The fluorescence emission spectra of the dye 5a show that an intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) mechanism takes place in the excited state, whereas a twisted internal charge transfer (TICT) state is observed for the dye 5b. Theoretical calculations were performed in order to study the conformation and polarity of the molecules at their ground and excited electronic states. Using density functional theory (DFT) methods at theoretical levels BLYP/Aug-SV(P) for geometry optimizations and B3LYP/6-311++G(2d,p) for single-point energy evaluations, the calculations indicate that the lowest energy conformations are in all cases nonplanar and that the dipole moments of the excited state relaxed structures are much larger than those of the ground state structures, which corroborates the experimental UV-vis absorption results.

Exploring Nuclear Photorelaxation of Pyranine in Aqueous Solution: an Integrated Ab-Initio Molecular Dynamics and Time Resolved Vibrational Analysis Approach.

PubMed

Chiariello, Maria Gabriella; Rega, Nadia

2018-03-22

Advances in time-resolved vibrational spectroscopy techniques provided a new stimulus for understanding the transient molecular dynamics triggered by the electronic excitation. The detailed interpretation of such time-dependent spectroscopic signals is a challenging task from both experimental and theoretical points of view. We simulated and analyzed the transient photorelaxation of the pyranine photoacid in aqueous solution, with special focus on structural parameters and low frequency skeleton modes that are possibly preparatory for the photoreaction occurring at later time, as suggested by experimental spectroscopic studies. To this aim, we adopted an accurate computational protocol that combines excited state ab initio molecular dynamics within an hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanics framework and a time-resolved vibrational analysis based on the Wavelet transform. According to our results, the main nuclear relaxation on the excited potential energy surface is completed in about 500 fs, in agreement with experimental data. The rearrangement of C-C bonds occurs according to a complex vibrational dynamics, showing oscillatory patterns that are out of phase and modulated by modes below 200 cm -1 . We also analyzed in both the ground and the excited state the evolution of some structural parameters involved in excited state proton transfer reaction, namely, those involving the pyranine and the water molecule hydrogen bonded to the phenolic O-H group. Both the hydrogen bond distance and the intermolecular orientation are optimized in the excited state, resulting in a tighter proton donor-acceptor couple. Indeed, we found evidence that collective low frequency skeleton modes, such as the out of plane wagging at 108 cm -1 and the deformation at 280 cm -1 , are photoactivated by the ultrafast part of the relaxation and modulate the pyranine-water molecule rearrangement, favoring the preparatory step for the photoreactivity.

Effects of Low-Energy Excitations on Spectral Properties at Higher Binding Energy: The Metal-Insulator Transition of VO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gatti, Matteo; Panaccione, Giancarlo; Reining, Lucia

2015-03-01

The effects of electron interaction on spectral properties can be understood in terms of coupling between excitations. In transition-metal oxides, the spectral function close to the Fermi level and low-energy excitations between d states have attracted particular attention. In this work we focus on photoemission spectra of vanadium dioxide over a wide (10 eV) range of binding energies. We show that there are clear signatures of the metal-insulator transition over the whole range due to a cross coupling of the delocalized s and p states with low-energy excitations between the localized d states. This coupling can be understood by advanced calculations based on many-body perturbation theory in the G W approximation. We also advocate the fact that tuning the photon energy up to the hard-x-ray range can help to distinguish fingerprints of correlation from pure band-structure effects.

Synthesis, Spectra, and Theoretical Investigations of 1,3,5-Triazines Compounds as Ultraviolet Rays Absorber Based on Time-Dependent Density Functional Calculations and three-Dimensional Quantitative Structure-Property Relationship.

PubMed

Wang, Xueding; Xu, Yilian; Yang, Lu; Lu, Xiang; Zou, Hao; Yang, Weiqing; Zhang, Yuanyuan; Li, Zicheng; Ma, Menglin

2018-03-01

A series of 1,3,5-triazines were synthesized and their UV absorption properties were tested. The computational chemistry methods were used to construct quantitative structure-property relationship (QSPR), which was used to computer aided design of new 1,3,5-triazines ultraviolet rays absorber compounds. The experimental UV absorption data are in good agreement with those predicted data using the Time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) [B3LYP/6-311 + G(d,p)]. A suitable forecasting model (R > 0.8, P < 0.0001) was revealed. Predictive three-dimensional quantitative structure-property relationship (3D-QSPR) model was established using multifit molecular alignment rule of Sybyl program, which conclusion is consistent with the TD-DFT calculation. The exceptional photostability mechanism of such ultraviolet rays absorber compounds was studied and confirmed as principally banked upon their ability to undergo excited-state deactivation via an ultrafast excited-state proton transfer (ESIPT). The intramolecular hydrogen bond (IMHB) of 1,3,5-triazines compounds is the basis for the excited state proton transfer, which was explored by IR spectroscopy, UV spectra, structural and energetic aspects of different conformers and frontier molecular orbitals analysis.

Deactivation via ring opening: A quantum chemical study of the excited states of furan and comparison to thiophene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gavrilov, Nemanja; Salzmann, Susanne; Marian, Christel M.

2008-06-01

Minimum nuclear arrangements of the ground and low-lying excited electronic states of furan were obtained by means of (time dependent) Kohn-Sham density functional theory. A combined density functional/multi-reference configuration interaction method (DFT/MRCI) was employed to compute the spectral properties at these points. Multiple minima were found on the first excited singlet (S 1) potential energy hypersurface with electronic structures S1, S2, S3 corresponding to the 1 1A 2 (π → 3s-Ryd), 1 1B 2 (π → π ∗), and 2 1A 1 (π → π ∗) states in the vertical absorption spectrum, respectively. In analogy to recently published studies in thiophene [S. Salzmann, M. Kleinschmidt, J. Tatchen, R. Weinkauf, C.M. Marian, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 10 (2008) 380] a deactivation mechanism for electronically excited furan was detected that involves the opening of the pentacyclic ring. We found a nearly barrierless relaxation pathway from the Franck-Condon region along a C-O bond-breaking coordinate. Hereby the initially excited 1B 2 (π → π ∗) state undergoes a conical intersection with a 1B 1 (π → σ ∗) state. The system can return to the electronic ground state through a second conical intersection of the 1(π → σ ∗) state before the minimum of that B 1 state is reached.

Carbon nanorings with inserted acenes: Breaking symmetry in excited state dynamics

DOE PAGES

Franklin-Mergarejo, R.; Alvarez, D. Ondarse; Tretiak, S.; ...

2016-08-10

Conjugated cycloparaphenylene rings have unique electronic properties being the smallest segments of carbon nanotubes. Their conjugated backbones support delocalized electronic excitations, which dynamics is strongly influenced by cyclic geometry. Here we present a comparative theoretical study of the electronic and vibrational energy relaxation and redistribution in photoexcited cycloparaphenylene carbon nanorings with inserted naphthalene, anthracene, and tetracene units using non-adiabatic excited-state molecular dynamics simulations. Calculated excited state structures reflect modifications of optical selection rules and appearance of low-energy electronic states localized on the acenes due to gradual departure from a perfect circular symmetry. After photoexcitation, an ultrafast electronic energy relaxation tomore » the lowest excited state is observed on the time scale of hundreds of femtoseconds in all molecules studied. Concomitantly, the efficiency of the exciton trapping in the acene raises when moving from naphthalene to anthracene and to tetracene, being negligible in naphthalene, and ~60% and 70% in anthracene and tetracene within the first 500 fs after photoexcitation. Observed photoinduced dynamics is further analyzed in details using induced molecular distortions, delocatization properties of participating electronic states and non-adiabatic coupling strengths. Lastly, our results provide a number of insights into design of cyclic molecular systems for electronic and light-harvesting applications.« less

Entanglement entropy of electronic excitations.

PubMed

Plasser, Felix

2016-05-21

A new perspective into correlation effects in electronically excited states is provided through quantum information theory. The entanglement between the electron and hole quasiparticles is examined, and it is shown that the related entanglement entropy can be computed from the eigenvalue spectrum of the well-known natural transition orbital (NTO) decomposition. Non-vanishing entanglement is obtained whenever more than one NTO pair is involved, i.e., in the case of a multiconfigurational or collective excitation. An important implication is that in the case of entanglement it is not possible to gain a complete description of the state character from the orbitals alone, but more specific analysis methods are required to decode the mutual information between the electron and hole. Moreover, the newly introduced number of entangled states is an important property by itself giving information about excitonic structure. The utility of the formalism is illustrated in the cases of the excited states of two interacting ethylene molecules, the conjugated polymer para-phenylene vinylene, and the naphthalene molecule.

Altering intra- to inter-molecular hydrogen bonding by dimethylsulfoxide: A TDDFT study of charge transfer for coumarin 343

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xiaochun; Yin, Hang; Li, Hui; Shi, Ying

2017-04-01

DFT and TDDFT methods were carried out to investigate the influences of intramolecular and intermolecular hydrogen bonding on excited state charge transfer for coumarin 343 (C343). Intramolecular hydrogen bonding is formed between carboxylic acid group and carbonyl group in C343 monomer. However, in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) solution, DMSO 'opens up' the intramolecular hydrogen bonding and forms solute-solvent intermolecular hydrogen bonded C343-DMSO complex. Analysis of frontier molecular orbitals reveals that intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) occurs in the first excited state both for C343 monomer and complex. The results of optimized geometric structures indicate that the intramolecular hydrogen bonding interaction is strengthened while the intermolecular hydrogen bonding is weakened in excited state, which is confirmed again by monitoring the shifts of characteristic peaks of infrared spectra. We demonstrated that DMSO solvent can not only break the intramolecular hydrogen bonding to form intermolecular hydrogen bonding with C343 but also alter the mechanism of excited state hydrogen bonding strengthening.

The "Rust" Challenge: On the Correlations between Electronic Structure, Excited State Dynamics, and Photoelectrochemical Performance of Hematite Photoanodes for Solar Water Splitting.

PubMed

Grave, Daniel A; Yatom, Natav; Ellis, David S; Toroker, Maytal Caspary; Rothschild, Avner

2018-03-05

In recent years, hematite's potential as a photoanode material for solar hydrogen production has ignited a renewed interest in its physical and interfacial properties, which continues to be an active field of research. Research on hematite photoanodes provides new insights on the correlations between electronic structure, transport properties, excited state dynamics, and charge transfer phenomena, and expands our knowledge on solar cell materials into correlated electron systems. This research news article presents a snapshot of selected theoretical and experimental developments linking the electronic structure to the photoelectrochemical performance, with particular focus on optoelectronic properties and charge carrier dynamics. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

From cluster structures to nuclear molecules: The role of nodal structure of the single-particle wave functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afanasjev, A. V.; Abusara, H.

2018-02-01

The nodal structure of the density distributions of the single-particle states occupied in rod-shaped, hyper- and megadeformed structures of nonrotating and rotating N ˜Z nuclei has been investigated in detail. The single-particle states with the Nilsson quantum numbers of the [N N 0 ]1 /2 (with N from 0 to 5) and [N ,N -1 ,1 ]Ω (with N from 1 to 3 and Ω =1 /2 , 3/2) types are considered. These states are building blocks of extremely deformed shapes in the nuclei with mass numbers A ≤50 . Because of (near) axial symmetry and large elongation of such structures, the wave functions of the single-particle states occupied are dominated by a single basis state in cylindrical basis. This basis state defines the nodal structure of the single-particle density distribution. The nodal structure of the single-particle density distributions allows us to understand in a relatively simple way the necessary conditions for α clusterization and the suppression of the α clusterization with the increase of mass number. It also explains in a natural way the coexistence of ellipsoidal mean-field-type structures and nuclear molecules at similar excitation energies and the features of particle-hole excitations connecting these two types of the structures. Our analysis of the nodal structure of the single-particle density distributions does not support the existence of quantum liquid phase for the deformations and nuclei under study.

K-shell excitation studied for H- and He-like bismuth ions in collisions with low-Z target atoms

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stoehlker, T.; Ionescu, D.C.; Rymuza, P.

1998-02-01

The formation of excited projectile states via Coulomb excitation is investigated for hydrogenlike and heliumlike bismuth projectiles (Z=83) in relativistic ion-atom collisions. The excitation process was unambiguously identified by observing the radiative decay of the excited levels to the vacant 1s shell in coincidence with ions that did not undergo charge exchange in the reaction target. In particular, owing to the large fine-structure splitting of Bi, the excitation cross sections to the various L-shell sublevels are determined separately. The results are compared with detailed relativistic calculations, showing that both the relativistic character of the bound-state wave functions and the magneticmore » interaction are of considerable importance for the K-shell excitation process in high-Z ions such as Bi. The experimental data confirm the result of the complete relativistic calculations, namely, that the magnetic part of the Li{acute e}nard-Wiechert interaction leads to a significant reduction of the K-shell excitation cross section. {copyright} {ital 1998} {ital The American Physical Society}« less

Nuclear Data Sheets for A = 70

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gürdal, G.; McCutchan, E. A.

2016-09-01

We evaluated spectroscopic data for all nuclei with mass number A = 70, and the corresponding level schemes from radioactive decay and reaction studies are presented. Since the previous evaluation, the half-life of 70Mn has been measured and excited states in 70Fe observed for the first time. Furthermore we studied the excited states in 70Ni extensively while Coulomb excitation and collinear laser spectroscopy measurements in 70Cu have allowed for firm Jπ assignments. Despite new measurements, there remain some discrepancies in half-lives of low lying states in 70Zn. New measurements have extended the knowledge of high-spin band structures in 70Ge andmore » 70As. Our evaluation supersedes the prior A = 70 evaluation of 2004Tu09.« less

Modeling Protein Excited-state Structures from "Over-length" Chemical Cross-links.

PubMed

Ding, Yue-He; Gong, Zhou; Dong, Xu; Liu, Kan; Liu, Zhu; Liu, Chao; He, Si-Min; Dong, Meng-Qiu; Tang, Chun

2017-01-27

Chemical cross-linking coupled with mass spectroscopy (CXMS) provides proximity information for the cross-linked residues and is used increasingly for modeling protein structures. However, experimentally identified cross-links are sometimes incompatible with the known structure of a protein, as the distance calculated between the cross-linked residues far exceeds the maximum length of the cross-linker. The discrepancies may persist even after eliminating potentially false cross-links and excluding intermolecular ones. Thus the "over-length" cross-links may arise from alternative excited-state conformation of the protein. Here we present a method and associated software DynaXL for visualizing the ensemble structures of multidomain proteins based on intramolecular cross-links identified by mass spectrometry with high confidence. Representing the cross-linkers and cross-linking reactions explicitly, we show that the protein excited-state structure can be modeled with as few as two over-length cross-links. We demonstrate the generality of our method with three systems: calmodulin, enzyme I, and glutamine-binding protein, and we show that these proteins alternate between different conformations for interacting with other proteins and ligands. Taken together, the over-length chemical cross-links contain valuable information about protein dynamics, and our findings here illustrate the relationship between dynamic domain movement and protein function. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Experimental and theoretical investigations of the electronic band structure of metal-organic frameworks of HKUST-1 type

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Zhi-Gang; Heinke, Lars; Wöll, Christof; Neumann, Tobias; Wenzel, Wolfgang; Li, Qiang; Fink, Karin; Gordan, Ovidiu D.; Zahn, Dietrich R. T.

2015-11-01

The electronic properties of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are increasingly attracting the attention due to potential applications in sensor techniques and (micro-) electronic engineering, for instance, as low-k-dielectric in semiconductor technology. Here, the band gap and the band structure of MOFs of type HKUST-1 are studied in detail by means of spectroscopic ellipsometry applied to thin surface-mounted MOF films and by means of quantum chemical calculations. The analysis of the density of states, the band structure, and the excitation spectrum reveal the importance of the empty Cu-3d orbitals for the electronic properties of HKUST-1. This study shows that, in contrast to common belief, even in the case of this fairly "simple" MOF, the excitation spectra cannot be explained by a superposition of "intra-unit" excitations within the individual building blocks. Instead, "inter-unit" excitations also have to be considered.

On the inversion of the 1 Bu and 2 Ag electronic states in α,ω-diphenylpolyenes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Catalán, J.

2003-07-01

An alternative model to that of the inversion of the states 1Bu and 2Ag is proposed for interpreting the photophysics of the α,ω-diphenylpolyenes. This model is based upon the existence of two chemical structures with Bu symmetry, which may be ascribed to the same excited electronic state 1Bu. One of the two chemical structures corresponds to the Franck-Condon structure with conjugated single and double bonds for the polyene chain, and another consists of a nearly equivalent series of partial double bonds along the polyene chain. The latter relaxed structure is consistent with the observation of high torsional energy barriers and low photoisomerization quantum yields for diphenylhexatriene in the singlet excited state manifold. Interestingly, such a simple quantum model as that of the particle in a one-dimensional box provides quite an accurate description of the absorption spectroscopic properties of these major compounds. This is partly the result of the most stable structures for these compounds being of the all-trans type; such structures increase in length as additional ethylene units are added, which makes them very similar to a one-dimensional box becoming increasingly longer.

Structure, initial excited-state relaxation, and energy storage of rhodopsin resolved at the multiconfigurational perturbation theory level

PubMed Central

Andruniów, Tadeusz; Ferré, Nicolas; Olivucci, Massimo

2004-01-01

We demonstrate that a “brute force” quantum chemical calculation based on an ab initio multiconfigurational second order perturbation theory approach implemented in a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics strategy can be applied to the investigation of the excited state of the visual pigment rhodopsin (Rh) with a computational error <5 kcal·mol-1. As a consequence, the simulation of the absorption and fluorescence of Rh and its retinal chromophore in solution allows for a nearly quantitative analysis of the factors determining the properties of the protein environment. More specifically, we demonstrate that the Rh environment is more similar to the “gas phase” than to the solution environment and that the so-called “opsin shift” originates from the inability of the solvent to effectively “shield” the chromophore from its counterion. The same strategy is used to investigate three transient structures involved in the photoisomerization of Rh under the assumption that the protein cavity does not change shape during the reaction. Accordingly, the analysis of the initially relaxed excited-state structure, the conical intersection driving the excited-state decay, and the primary isolable bathorhodopsin intermediate supports a mechanism where the photoisomerization coordinate involves a “motion” reminiscent of the so-called bicycle-pedal reaction coordinate. Most importantly, it is shown that the mechanism of the ∼30 kcal·mol-1 photon energy storage observed for Rh is not consistent with a model based exclusively on the change of the electrostatic interaction of the chromophore with the protein/counterion environment. PMID:15604139

Femtosecond stimulated Raman evidence for charge-transfer character in pentacene singlet fission.

PubMed

Hart, Stephanie M; Silva, W Ruchira; Frontiera, Renee R

2018-02-07

Singlet fission is a spin-allowed process in which an excited singlet state evolves into two triplet states. We use femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy, an ultrafast vibrational technique, to follow the molecular structural evolution during singlet fission in order to determine the mechanism of this process. In crystalline pentacene, we observe the formation of an intermediate characterized by pairs of excited state peaks that are red- and blue-shifted relative to the ground state features. We hypothesize that these features arise from the formation of cationic and anionic species due to partial transfer of electron density from one pentacene molecule to a neighboring molecule. These observations provide experimental evidence for the role of states with significant charge-transfer character which facilitate the singlet fission process in pentacene. Our work both provides new insight into the singlet fission mechanism in pentacene and demonstrates the utility of structurally-sensitive time-resolved spectroscopic techniques in monitoring ultrafast processes.

Real-time ab initio simulations of excited-state dynamics in nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomanek, David

2007-03-01

Combining time-dependent ab initio density functional calculations for electrons with molecular dynamics simulations for ions, we investigate the effect of excited-state dynamics in nanostructures. In carbon nanotubes, we find electronic excitations to last for a large fraction of a picosecond. The de-excitation process is dominated by coupling to other electronic degrees of freedom during the first few hundred femtoseconds. Later, the de-excitation process becomes dominated by coupling to ionic motion. The onset point and damping rate in that regime change with initial ion velocities, a manifestation of temperature dependent electron-phonon coupling. Considering the fact that the force field in the electronically excited state differs significantly from the ground state, as reflected in the Franck-Condon effect, atomic bonds can easily be broken or restored during the relatively long lifetime of electronic excitations. This effect can be utilized in a ``photo-surgery" of nanotubes, causing structural self-healing at vacancy sites or selective de-oxidation processes induced by photo-absorption. Also, electronic excitations are a key ingredient for the understanding of sputtering processes in nanostructures, induced by energetic collisions with ions. Yoshiyuki Miyamoto, Angel Rubio, and David Tomanek, Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 126104 (2006). Yoshiyuki Miyamoto, Savas Berber, Mina Yoon, Angel Rubio, and David Tomanek, Chem. Phys. Lett. 392, 209 (2004). Yoshiyuki Miyamoto, Noboru Jinbo, Hisashi Nakamura, Angel Rubio, and David Tomanek, Phys. Rev. B 70, 233408 (2004). Yoshiyuki Miyamoto, Arkady Krasheninnikov, and David Tomanek (in preparation).

Coulomb excitation of radioactive 20, 21Na

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schumaker, M. A.; Cline, D.; Hackman, G.; Pearson, C.; Svensson, C. E.; Wu, C. Y.; Andreyev, A.; Austin, R. A. E.; Ball, G. C.; Bandyopadhyay, D.; Becker, J. A.; Boston, A. J.; Boston, H. C.; Buchmann, L.; Churchman, R.; Cifarelli, F.; Cooper, R. J.; Cross, D. S.; Dashdorj, D.; Demand, G. A.; Dimmock, M. R.; Drake, T. E.; Finlay, P.; Gallant, A. T.; Garrett, P. E.; Green, K. L.; Grint, A. N.; Grinyer, G. F.; Harkness, L. J.; Hayes, A. B.; Kanungo, R.; Lisetskiy, A. F.; Leach, K. G.; Lee, G.; Maharaj, R.; Martin, J.-P.; Moisan, F.; Morton, A. C.; Mythili, S.; Nelson, L.; Newman, O.; Nolan, P. J.; Orce, J. N.; Padilla-Rodal, E.; Phillips, A. A.; Porter-Peden, M.; Ressler, J. J.; Roy, R.; Ruiz, C.; Sarazin, F.; Scraggs, D. P.; Waddington, J. C.; Wan, J. M.; Whitbeck, A.; Williams, S. J.; Wong, J.

2009-12-01

The low-energy structures of the radioactive nuclei 20, 21Na have been examined using Coulomb excitation at the TRIUMF-ISAC radioactive ion beam facility. Beams of ˜ 5×106 ions/s were accelerated to 1.7MeV/A and Coulomb excited in a 0.5mg/cm^2 natTi target. Two TIGRESS HPGe clover detectors perpendicular to the beam axis were used for γ -ray detection, while scattered nuclei were observed by the Si detector BAMBINO. For 21Na , Coulomb excitation from the 3/2+ ground state to the first excited 5/2+ state was observed, while for 20Na , Coulomb excitation was observed from the 2+ ground state to the first excited 3+ and 4+ states. For both beams, B ( λ L) values were determined using the 2+ rightarrow 0+ de-excitation in 48Ti as a reference. The resulting B( E2) ↓ value for 21Na is 137±9 e^2fm^4, while the resulting B( λ L) ↓ values for 20Na are 55±6 e^2fm^4 for the 3+ rightarrow 2+ , 35.7±5.7 e^2 fm^4 for the 4+ rightarrow 2+ , and 0.154±0.030 μ_ N^2 for the 4+ rightarrow 3+ transitions. This analysis significantly improves the measurement of the 21Na B( E2) value, and provides the first experimental determination of B( λ L) values for the proton dripline nucleus 20Na .-1

Hyperfine structure in 229gTh3+ as a probe of the 229gTh→ 229mTh nuclear excitation energy.

PubMed

Beloy, K

2014-02-14

We identify a potential means to extract the 229gTh→ 229mTh nuclear excitation energy from precision microwave spectroscopy of the 5F(5/2,7/2) hyperfine manifolds in the ion 229gTh3+. The hyperfine interaction mixes this ground fine structure doublet with states of the nuclear isomer, introducing small but observable shifts to the hyperfine sublevels. We demonstrate how accurate atomic structure calculations may be combined with the measurement of the hyperfine intervals to quantify the effects of this mixing. Further knowledge of the magnetic dipole decay rate of the isomer, as recently reported, allows an indirect determination of the nuclear excitation energy.

Gamow-Teller transitions in the 64Ni(3He, t)64Cu reaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popescu, L.; Adachi, T.; Berg, G. P. A.; von Brentano, P.; De Frenne, D.; Fujita, K.; Fujita, Y.; Hatanaka, K.; Jacobs, E.; Negret, A.; Nakanishi, K.; Sakemi, Y.; Shimbara, Y.; Shimizu, Y.; Tameshige, Y.; Tamii, A.; Uchida, M.; Yosoi, M.

2005-10-01

In order to study the Gamow-Teller (GT) transitions in the fp-shell nucleus 64Cu, the 64Ni(3He, t)64Cu charge-exchange reaction was investigated at E3He= 140 MeV/nucleon [1]. The outgoing tritons were momentum analysed by the Grand Raiden spectrometer at 0°. The very high energy resolution of 35 keV (FWHM) allowed the separation of individual levels in the excitation energy region from 0 to 3.5 MeV. An angular distribution analysis was performed for the observed transitions to these states. In addition to the ground state (g.s.), known to be a Jπ = 1+ GT state, several excited states showed L = 0 nature, making them candidates of GT states. At higher excitation energies, the level density becomes very high and a bump-like structure, the so-called GT Giant Resonance, dominates the spectrum.

Multiparticle configurations of excited states in 155Lu

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carroll, R. J.; Hadinia, B.; Qi, C.; Joss, D. T.; Page, R. D.; Uusitalo, J.; Andgren, K.; Cederwall, B.; Darby, I. G.; Eeckhaudt, S.; Grahn, T.; Gray-Jones, C.; Greenlees, P. T.; Jones, P. M.; Julin, R.; Juutinen, S.; Leino, M.; Leppänen, A.-P.; Nyman, M.; Pakarinen, J.; Rahkila, P.; Sandzelius, M.; Sarén, J.; Scholey, C.; Seweryniak, D.; Simpson, J.

2016-12-01

Excited states in the neutron-deficient N =84 nuclide 155Lu have been populated by using the 102Pd(58Ni,α p ) reaction. The 155Lu nuclei were separated by using the gas-filled recoil ion transport unit (RITU) separator and implanted into the Si detectors of the gamma recoil electron alpha tagging (GREAT) spectrometer. Prompt γ -ray emissions measured at the target position using the JUROGAM Ge detector array were assigned to 155Lu through correlations with α decays measured in GREAT. Structures feeding the (11 /2-) and (25 /2-)α -decaying states have been revised and extended. Shell-model calculations have been performed and are found to reproduce the excitation energies of several of the low-lying states observed to within an average of 71 keV. In particular, the seniority inversion of the 25 /2- and 27 /2- states is reproduced.

Investigation of the 9B nucleus and its cluster-nucleon correlations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Qing; Ren, Zhongzhou; Lyu, Mengjiao; Horiuchi, Hisashi; Funaki, Yasuro; Röpke, Gerd; Schuck, Peter; Tohsaki, Akihiro; Xu, Chang; Yamada, Taiichi; Zhou, Bo

2018-05-01

In order to study the correlations between clusters and nucleons in light nuclei, we formulate a new superposed Tohsaki-Horiuchi-Schuck-Röpke (THSR) wave function which describes both spatially large spreading and cluster-correlated dynamics of valence nucleons. Using this new THSR wave function, the binding energy of 9B is significantly improved in comparison with our previous studies. We calculate the excited states of 9B and obtain an energy spectrum of 9B which is consistent with the experimental results. This includes the prediction of the first 1 /2+ excited state of 9B which is not yet fixed experimentally. We study the proton dynamics in 9B and find that the cluster-proton correlation plays an essential role for the proton dynamics in the ground state of 9B. Furthermore, we discuss the density distribution of the valence proton with special attention to its tail structure. Finally, the resonance nature of excited states of 9B is illustrated comparing root-mean-square radii between the ground and excited states.

Photoelectron imaging of autoionizing states of xenon: Effect of external electric fields

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shubert, V. Alvin; Pratt, Stephen T.

Velocity map photoelectron imaging was used to study the photoelectron angular distributions of autoionizing Stark states of atomic xenon excited just below the Xe{sup +} {sup 2} P{sub 1/2}{sup o} threshold at fields ranging from 50 to 700 V/cm. Two-color, two-photon resonant, three-photon excitation via the 6p{sup '}[1/2]{sub 0} level was used to probe the region of interest. The wavelength scans show a similar evolution of structure to that observed in single-photon excitation [Ernst et al., Phys. Rev. A 37, 4172 (1988)]. The photoelectron angular distributions following autoionization of the Stark states provide information on the decay of excited statesmore » in electron fields. In the present experiments, the large autoionization width of the ({sup 2} P{sub 1/2}{sup o})nd[3/2]{sub 1}{sup o} series dominates the decay processes, and thus controls the angular distributions. However, the angular distributions of the Stark states also indicate the presence of other decay channels contributing to the decay of these states.« less

Effective collision strengths for the electron impact excitation of Mg

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hudson, C. E.; Ramsbottom, C. A.; Norrington, P. H.; Scott, M. P.

2008-05-01

Electron impact excitation collision strengths for fine structure transitions of Mg,have been determined by a Breit-Pauli R-matrix calculation. The target states are represented by configuration interaction wavefunctions and consist of the 19 lowest LS states, having configurations 2s^22p^4, 2s2p^5, 2p^6, 2s^22p^33s and 2s^22p^33p. These target states give rise to 37 fine structure levels and 666 possible transitions. The effective collision strengths are calculated by averaging the electron collision strengths over a Maxwellian distribution of electron velocities. Effective collision strengths for transitions between the fine structure levels are given for electron temperatures in the range 10Te(K) = 3.0 - 7.0. Results are compared with the previous R-matrix calculation of Butler & Zeippen (AASS, 1994) and the recent Distorted Wave evaluations of Bhatia, Landi & Eissner (ADNDT, 2006).

Capturing local structure modulations of photoexcited BiVO4 by ultrafast transient XAFS.

PubMed

Uemura, Yohei; Kido, Daiki; Koide, Akihiro; Wakisaka, Yuki; Niwa, Yasuhiro; Nozawa, Shunsuke; Ichiyanagi, Kohei; Fukaya, Ryo; Adachi, Shin-Ichi; Katayama, Tetsuo; Togashi, Tadashi; Owada, Shigeki; Yabashi, Makina; Hatada, Keisuke; Iwase, Akihide; Kudo, Akihiko; Takakusagi, Satoru; Yokoyama, Toshihiko; Asakura, Kiyotaka

2017-06-29

Ultrafast excitation of photocatalytically active BiVO 4 was characterized by femto- and picosecond transient X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy. An initial photoexcited state (≪500 fs) changed to a metastable state accompanied by a structural change with a time constant of ∼14 ps. The structural change might stabilize holes on oxygen atoms since the interaction between Bi and O increases.

Electron impact excitation of tin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Lalita; Bharti, Swati; Srivastava, Rajesh

2017-05-01

We study the electron impact excitation of the fine-structure levels of the ground state configuration 5p2 to the excited states of the configuration 5p6s in tin atom. These calculations have been carried out in the jj coupling scheme using the relativistic distorted-wave method. Results for differential cross section are reported at incident electron energies 20, 50, 80 and 100 eV while integrated cross sections are presented in the incident electron energy range of 5 to 100 eV. Contribution to the Topical Issue: "Low-Energy Interactions related to Atmospheric and Extreme Conditions", edited by S. Ptasinska, M. Smialek-Telega, A. Milosavljevic and B. Sivaraman.

Describing excited state relaxation and localization in TiO 2 nanoparticles using TD-DFT

DOE PAGES

Berardo, Enrico; Hu, Han -Shi; van Dam, Hubertus J. J.; ...

2014-02-26

We have investigated the description of excited state relaxation in naked and hydrated TiO 2 nanoparticles using Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (TD-DFT) with three common hybrid exchange-correlation (XC) potentials; B3LYP, CAM-B3LYP and BHLYP. Use of TD-CAM-B3LYP and TD-BHLYP yields qualitatively similar results for all structures, which are also consistent with predictions of coupled cluster theory for small particles. TD-B3LYP, in contrast, is found to make rather different predictions; including apparent conical intersections for certain particles that are not observed with TD-CAM-B3LYP nor with TD-BHLYP. In line with our previous observations for vertical excitations, the issue with TD-B3LYP appears to bemore » the inherent tendency of TD-B3LYP, and other XC potentials with no or a low percentage of Hartree-Fock Like Exchange, to spuriously stabilize the energy of charge-transfer (CT) states. Even in the case of hydrated particles, for which vertical excitations are generally well described with all XC potentials, the use of TD-B3LYP appears to result in CT-problems for certain particles. We hypothesize that the spurious stabilization of CT-states by TD-B3LYP even may drive the excited state optimizations to different excited state geometries than those obtained using TD-CAM-B3LYP or TD-BHLYP. In conclusion, focusing on the TD-CAM-B3LYP and TD-BHLYP results, excited state relaxation in naked and hydrated TiO 2 nanoparticles is predicted to be associated with a large Stokes’ shift.« less

Describing excited state relaxation and localization in TiO 2 nanoparticles using TD-DFT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Berardo, Enrico; Hu, Han -Shi; van Dam, Hubertus J. J.

We have investigated the description of excited state relaxation in naked and hydrated TiO 2 nanoparticles using Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (TD-DFT) with three common hybrid exchange-correlation (XC) potentials; B3LYP, CAM-B3LYP and BHLYP. Use of TD-CAM-B3LYP and TD-BHLYP yields qualitatively similar results for all structures, which are also consistent with predictions of coupled cluster theory for small particles. TD-B3LYP, in contrast, is found to make rather different predictions; including apparent conical intersections for certain particles that are not observed with TD-CAM-B3LYP nor with TD-BHLYP. In line with our previous observations for vertical excitations, the issue with TD-B3LYP appears to bemore » the inherent tendency of TD-B3LYP, and other XC potentials with no or a low percentage of Hartree-Fock Like Exchange, to spuriously stabilize the energy of charge-transfer (CT) states. Even in the case of hydrated particles, for which vertical excitations are generally well described with all XC potentials, the use of TD-B3LYP appears to result in CT-problems for certain particles. We hypothesize that the spurious stabilization of CT-states by TD-B3LYP even may drive the excited state optimizations to different excited state geometries than those obtained using TD-CAM-B3LYP or TD-BHLYP. In conclusion, focusing on the TD-CAM-B3LYP and TD-BHLYP results, excited state relaxation in naked and hydrated TiO 2 nanoparticles is predicted to be associated with a large Stokes’ shift.« less

Parity-Doublet Structure in the $$147\\atop{57}$$La 90 nucleus

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wisniewski, J.; Urban, W.; Rzaca-Urban, T.

Excited states in 147La, populated in spontaneous fission of 252Cf have been reinvestigated by means of γ spectroscopy, using high-fold γ coincidences measured with Gammasphere array of Ge detectors. The 229.5-keV level, which has been assigned spin-parity 9/2 - in a recent evaluation, is shown to have spin-parity 11/2 -. Consequently, the ground state has spin-parity 5/2 +. Excited levels in 147La have been arranged into a parity-doublet structure, showing that at medium excitation energy the 147La nucleus may have octupole deformation. In conclusion, the B( E1) rates in 147La, which are factor four lower than in 145La, suggest thatmore » the electric dipole moment in 147La is depresses by an extra mechanism, probably connected with the population of particular neutron orbitals.« less

Parity-Doublet Structure in the $$147\\atop{57}$$La 90 nucleus

DOE PAGES

Wisniewski, J.; Urban, W.; Rzaca-Urban, T.; ...

2017-12-01

Excited states in 147La, populated in spontaneous fission of 252Cf have been reinvestigated by means of γ spectroscopy, using high-fold γ coincidences measured with Gammasphere array of Ge detectors. The 229.5-keV level, which has been assigned spin-parity 9/2 - in a recent evaluation, is shown to have spin-parity 11/2 -. Consequently, the ground state has spin-parity 5/2 +. Excited levels in 147La have been arranged into a parity-doublet structure, showing that at medium excitation energy the 147La nucleus may have octupole deformation. In conclusion, the B( E1) rates in 147La, which are factor four lower than in 145La, suggest thatmore » the electric dipole moment in 147La is depresses by an extra mechanism, probably connected with the population of particular neutron orbitals.« less

Optimization of structures undergoing harmonic or stochastic excitation. Ph.D. Thesis; [atmospheric turbulence and white noise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, E. H.

1975-01-01

The optimal design was investigated of simple structures subjected to dynamic loads, with constraints on the structures' responses. Optimal designs were examined for one dimensional structures excited by harmonically oscillating loads, similar structures excited by white noise, and a wing in the presence of continuous atmospheric turbulence. The first has constraints on the maximum allowable stress while the last two place bounds on the probability of failure of the structure. Approximations were made to replace the time parameter with a frequency parameter. For the first problem, this involved the steady state response, and in the remaining cases, power spectral techniques were employed to find the root mean square values of the responses. Optimal solutions were found by using computer algorithms which combined finite elements methods with optimization techniques based on mathematical programming. It was found that the inertial loads for these dynamic problems result in optimal structures that are radically different from those obtained for structures loaded statically by forces of comparable magnitude.

Collective and non-collective structures in nuclei of mass region A ≈ 125

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Singh, A. K.; Collaboration: INGA Collaboration; Gammasphere Collaboration

Generation of angular momentum in nuclei is a key question in nuclear structure studies. In single particle model, it is due to alignment of spin of individual nucleon available in the valence space, whereas coherent motion of nucleons are assumed in the collective model. The nuclei near the closed shell at Z = 50 with mass number A ≈ 120-125 represent ideal cases to explore the interplay between these competing mechanisms and the transition from non-collective to collective behavior or vice versa. Recent spectroscopic studies of nuclei in this region reveal several non-collective maximally aligned states representing the first kindmore » of excitation mechanism, where 8-12 particles above the {sup 114}Sn align their spins to generate these states. Deformed rotational bands feeding the non-collective states in the spin range I=20-25 and excitation energies around 10 MeV have also been observed. Structure of the collective and non-collective states are discussed in the framework of Cranked-Nilsson-Strutinsky model.« less

Probing the solvation structure and dynamics in ionic liquids by time-resolved infrared spectroscopy of 4-(dimethylamino)benzonitrile.

PubMed

Ando, Rômulo A; Brown-Xu, Samantha E; Nguyen, Lisa N Q; Gustafson, Terry L

2017-09-20

In this work we demonstrate the use of the push-pull model system 4-(dimethylamino)benzonitrile (DMABN) as a convenient molecular probe to investigate the local solvation structure and dynamics by means of time-resolved infrared spectroscopy (TRIR). The photochemical features associated with this system provide several advantages due to the high charge separation between the ground and charge transfer states involving the characteristic nitrile bond, and an excited state lifetime that is long enough to observe the slow solvation dynamics in organic solvents and ionic liquids. The conversion from a locally excited state to an intramolecular charge transfer state (LE-ICT) in ionic liquids shows similar kinetic lifetimes in comparison to organic solvents. This similarity confirms that such conversion depends solely on the intramolecular reorganization of DMABN in the excited state, and not by the dynamics of solvation. In contrast, the relative shift of the ν(CN) vibration during the relaxation of the ICT state reveals two distinct lifetimes that are sensitive to the solvent environment. This study reveals a fast time component which is attributed to the dipolar relaxation of the solvent and a slower time component related to the rotation of the dimethylamino group of DMABN.

Red Phosphorescence from Benzo[2,1,3]thiadiazoles at Room Temperature.

PubMed

Gutierrez, Gregory D; Sazama, Graham T; Wu, Tony; Baldo, Marc A; Swager, Timothy M

2016-06-03

We describe the red phosphorescence exhibited by a class of structurally simple benzo[2,1,3]thiadiazoles at room temperature. The photophysical properties of these molecules in deoxygenated cyclohexane, including their absorption spectra, steady-state photoluminescence and excitation spectra, and phosphorescence lifetimes, are presented. Time-dependent density functional theory calculations were carried out to better understand the electronic excited states of these benzo[2,1,3]thiadiazoles and why they are capable of phosphorescence.

Investigation of SSME alternate high pressure fuel turbopump lift-off seal fluid and structural dynamic interaction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Elrod, David A.

1989-01-01

The Space Shuttle main engine (SSME) alternate turbopump development program (ATD) high pressure fuel turbopump (HPFTP) design utilizes an innovative lift-off seal (LOS) design that is located in close proximity to the turbine end bearing. Cooling flow exiting the bearing passes through the lift-off seal during steady state operation. The potential for fluid excitation of lift-off seal structural resonances is investigated. No fluid excitation of LOS resonances is predicted. However, if predicted LOS natural frequencies are significantly lowered by the presence of the coolant, pressure oscillations caused by synchronous whirl of the HPFTP rotor may excite a resonance.

Using resonant x-ray scattering to determine how structure controls the charge generation process in PCPDTBT:PC70BM solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pope, Michael; Waldrip, Matthew; Ferron, Thomas; Collins, Brian

Increased solar power conversion efficiencies to 12% in bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaics (OPVs) continue to brighten their prospects as an economically viable source of solar energy. It is known that OPV performance can be enhanced through processing additives that change the nanostructure. We track these critical structure-property relationships in the OPV system PCPDTBT:PC70BM while varying the amount of DIO additive. Resonant Soft X-ray Scattering reveals domain purity, domain size, and molecular orientation to highlight the system's complex dependence on DIO concentration. We will show the effect the resulting structure has on charge generation and recombination via in-situ transient and steady state optoelectronic measurements. By measuring structure, excited state dynamics and device performance all on the same sample enables direct relationships to be measured. We show that the appropriate balance of crystallinity, domain size and domain purity are important for optimized excited state dynamics and device performance.

Vibrationally resolved photoelectron spectroscopy of electronic excited states of DNA bases: application to the ã state of thymine cation.

PubMed

Hochlaf, Majdi; Pan, Yi; Lau, Kai-Chung; Majdi, Youssef; Poisson, Lionel; Garcia, Gustavo A; Nahon, Laurent; Al Mogren, Muneerah Mogren; Schwell, Martin

2015-02-19

For fully understanding the light-molecule interaction dynamics at short time scales, recent theoretical and experimental studies proved the importance of accurate characterizations not only of the ground (D0) but also of the electronic excited states (e.g., D1) of molecules. While ground state investigations are currently straightforward, those of electronic excited states are not. Here, we characterized the à electronic state of ionic thymine (T(+)) DNA base using explicitly correlated coupled cluster ab initio methods and state-of-the-art synchrotron-based electron/ion coincidence techniques. The experimental spectrum is composed of rich and long vibrational progressions corresponding to the population of the low frequency modes of T(+)(Ã). This work challenges previous numerous works carried out on DNA bases using common synchrotron and VUV-based photoelectron spectroscopies. We provide hence a powerful theoretical and experimental framework to study the electronic structure of ionized DNA bases that could be generalized to other medium-sized biologically relevant systems.

Solute-Solvent Charge-Transfer Excitations and Optical Absorption of Hydrated Hydroxide from Time-Dependent Density-Functional Theory.

PubMed

Opalka, Daniel; Sprik, Michiel

2014-06-10

The electronic structure of simple hydrated ions represents one of the most challenging problems in electronic-structure theory. Spectroscopic experiments identified the lowest excited state of the solvated hydroxide as a charge-transfer-to-solvent (CTTS) state. In the present work we report computations of the absorption spectrum of the solvated hydroxide ion, treating both solvent and solute strictly at the same level of theory. The average absorption spectrum up to 25 eV has been computed for samples taken from periodic ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. The experimentally observed CTTS state near the onset of the absorption threshold has been analyzed at the generalized-gradient approximation (GGA) and with a hybrid density-functional. Based on results for the lowest excitation energies computed with the HSE hybrid functional and a Davidson diagonalization scheme, the CTTS transition has been found 0.6 eV below the first absorption band of liquid water. The transfer of an electron to the solvent can be assigned to an excitation from the solute 2pπ orbitals, which are subject to a small energetic splitting due to the asymmetric solvent environment, to the significantly delocalized lowest unoccupied orbital of the solvent. The distribution of the centers of the excited state shows that CTTS along the OH(-) axis of the hydroxide ion is avoided. Furthermore, our simulations indicate that the systematic error arising in the calculated spectrum at the GGA originates from a poor description of the valence band energies in the solution.

A dynamic load estimation method for nonlinear structures with unscented Kalman filter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, L. N.; Ding, Y.; Wang, Z.; Xu, G. S.; Wu, B.

2018-02-01

A force estimation method is proposed for hysteretic nonlinear structures. The equation of motion for the nonlinear structure is represented in state space and the state variable is augmented by the unknown the time history of external force. Unscented Kalman filter (UKF) is improved for the force identification in state space considering the ill-condition characteristic in the computation of square roots for the covariance matrix. The proposed method is firstly validated by a numerical simulation study of a 3-storey nonlinear hysteretic frame excited by periodic force. Each storey is supposed to follow a nonlinear hysteretic model. The external force is identified and the measurement noise is considered in this case. Then a case of a seismically isolated building subjected to earthquake excitation and impact force is studied. The isolation layer performs nonlinearly during the earthquake excitation. Impact force between the seismically isolated structure and the retaining wall is estimated with the proposed method. Uncertainties such as measurement noise, model error in storey stiffness and unexpected environmental disturbances are considered. A real-time substructure testing of an isolated structure is conducted to verify the proposed method. In the experimental study, the linear main structure is taken as numerical substructure while the one of the isolations with additional mass is taken as the nonlinear physical substructure. The force applied by the actuator on the physical substructure is identified and compared with the measured value from the force transducer. The method proposed in this paper is also validated by shaking table test of a seismically isolated steel frame. The acceleration of the ground motion as the unknowns is identified by the proposed method. Results from both numerical simulation and experimental studies indicate that the UKF based force identification method can be used to identify external excitations effectively for the nonlinear structure with accurate results even with measurement noise, model error and environmental disturbances.

Excitations of one-valence-proton, one-valence-neutron nucleus {sup 210}Bi from cold-neutron capture

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cieplicka-Oryńczak, N.; Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, PL-31342 Kraków; Fornal, B.

2015-10-15

The low-spin structure of one-proton, one-neutron {sup 210}Bi nucleus was investigated in cold-neutron capture reaction on {sup 209}Bi. The γ-coincidence measurements were performed with use of EXILL array consisted of 16 HPGe detectors. The experimental results were compared to shell-model calculations involving valence particles excitations. The {sup 210}Bi nucleus offers the potential to test the effective proton-neutron interactions because most of the states should arise from the proton-neutron excitations. Additionally, it was discovered that a few states should come from the couplings of valence particles to the 3{sup −} octupole vibration in {sup 208}Pb which provides also the possibility ofmore » testing the calculations involving the core excitations.« less

Laser-induced dispersive fluorescence spectrum and the detection of NO II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Guiyin; Jin, Yidong

2008-03-01

Laser-induced dispersive fluorescence (LIDF) spectrum of NO II molecule in the spectral region of 508.3-708.3nm is obtained with the 508.0nm excitation wavelength. It is found that at low sample pressure the spectrum is composed of a banded structure superimposed on a continuous one. While the spectrum show itself as a continuous envelope centered at 630.0nm when the pressure with a higher value. NO II molecules are excited to the first excited state A2B II by absorbing laser photons. Owing to the strong interaction between X2A I~A2B II and A2B II ~ B2B Istates, some excited molecules redistribute to X2A I and B2B I states by the process of internal energy conversion or quenching. This induces the fluorescence come from different excited states. Based on the experimental data, the vibration frequencies of the ground electronic state of NO II molecule are obtained. They are ω I=(1319+/-12)cm -1, ω II=(759.8+/-0.7)cm -1,and ω 3=(1635+/-29)cm -1. The optimum-receiving wavelength for detecting NO II gas with the technique of LIDF is proposed.

Observation of excited state charge transfer with fs/ps-CARS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Blom, Alex Jason

2009-01-01

Excited state charge transfer processes are studied using the fs/ps-CARS probe technique. This probe allows for multiplexed detection of Raman active vibrational modes. Systems studied include Michler's Ketone, Coumarin 120, 4-dimethylamino-4'-nitrostilbene, and several others. The vibrational spectrum of the para di-substituted benzophenone Michler's Ketone in the first excited singlet state is studied for the first time. It is found that there are several vibrational modes indicative of structural changes of the excited molecule. A combined experimental and theoretical approach is used to study the simplest 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin, Coumarin 120. Vibrations observed in FTIR and spontaneous Raman spectra are assigned using densitymore » functional calculations and a continuum solvation model is used to predict how observed modes are affected upon inclusion of a solvent. The low frequency modes of the excited state charge transfer species 4-dimethylamino-4{prime}-nitrostilbene are studied in acetonitrile. Results are compared to previous work on this molecule in the fingerprint region. Finally, several partially completed projects and their implications are discussed. These include the two photon absorption of Coumarin 120, nanoconfinement in cyclodextrin cavities and sensitization of titania nanoparticles.« less

Long-range interactions of hydrogen atoms in excited states. III. n S -1 S interactions for n ≥3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adhikari, C. M.; Debierre, V.; Jentschura, U. D.

2017-09-01

The long-range interaction of excited neutral atoms has a number of interesting and surprising properties such as the prevalence of long-range oscillatory tails and the emergence of numerically large van der Waals C6 coefficients. Furthermore, the energetically quasidegenerate n P states require special attention and lead to mathematical subtleties. Here we analyze the interaction of excited hydrogen atoms in n S states (3 ≤n ≤12 ) with ground-state hydrogen atoms and find that the C6 coefficients roughly grow with the fourth power of the principal quantum number and can reach values in excess of 240 000 (in atomic units) for states with n =12 . The nonretarded van der Waals result is relevant to the distance range R ≪a0/α , where a0 is the Bohr radius and α is the fine-structure constant. The Casimir-Polder range encompasses the interatomic distance range a0/α ≪R ≪ℏ c /L , where L is the Lamb shift energy. In this range, the contribution of quasidegenerate excited n P states remains nonretarded and competes with the 1 /R2 and 1 /R4 tails of the pole terms, which are generated by lower-lying m P states with 2 ≤m ≤n -1 , due to virtual resonant emission. The dominant pole terms are also analyzed in the Lamb shift range R ≫ℏ c /L . The familiar 1 /R7 asymptotics from the usual Casimir-Polder theory is found to be completely irrelevant for the analysis of excited-state interactions. The calculations are carried out to high precision using computer algebra in order to handle a large number of terms in intermediate steps of the calculation for highly excited states.

Low-lying dipole strength of the open-shell nucleus 94Mo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romig, C.; Beller, J.; Glorius, J.; Isaak, J.; Kelley, J. H.; Kwan, E.; Pietralla, N.; Ponomarev, V. Yu.; Sauerwein, A.; Savran, D.; Scheck, M.; Schnorrenberger, L.; Sonnabend, K.; Tonchev, A. P.; Tornow, W.; Weller, H. R.; Zilges, A.; Zweidinger, M.

2013-10-01

The low-lying dipole strength of the open-shell nucleus 94Mo was studied via the nuclear resonance fluorescence technique up to 8.7 MeV excitation energy at the bremsstrahlung facility at the Superconducting Darmstadt Electron Linear Accelerator (S-DALINAC), and with Compton backscattered photons at the High Intensity γ-ray Source (HIγS) facility. In total, 83 excited states were identified. Exploiting polarized quasi-monoenergetic photons at HIγS, parity quantum numbers were assigned to 41 states excited by dipole transitions. The electric dipole-strength distribution was determined up to 8.7 MeV and compared to microscopic calculations within the quasiparticle phonon model. Calculations and experimental data are in good agreement for the fragmentation, as well as for the integrated strength. The average decay pattern of the excited states was investigated exploiting the HIγS measurements at five energy settings. Mean branching ratios to the ground state and first excited 21+ state were extracted from the measurements with quasi-monoenergetic photons and compared to γ-cascade simulations within the statistical model. The experimentally deduced mean branching ratios exhibit a resonance-like maximum at 6.4 MeV which cannot be reproduced within the statistical model. This indicates a nonstatistical structure in the energy range between 5.5 and 7.5 MeV.

Effect of the solvent environment on the spectroscopic properties and dynamics of the lowest excited states of carotenoids

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Frank, H.A.; Bautista, J.A.; Josue, J.

2000-05-11

The spectroscopic properties and dynamics of the lowest excited singlet states of peridinin, fucoxanthin, neoxanthin, uriolide acetate, spheroidene, and spheroidenone in several different solvents have been studied by steady-state absorption and fast-transient optical spectroscopic techniques. Peridinin, fucoxanthin, uriolide acetate, and spheroidenone, which contain carbonyl functional groups in conjugation with the carbon-carbon {pi}-electron system, display broader absorption spectral features and are affected more by the solvent environment than neoxanthin and spheroidene, which do not contain carbonyl functional groups. The possible sources of the spectral broadening are explored by examining the absorption spectra at 77 K in glassy solvents. Also, carotenoids whichmore » contain carbonyls have complex transient absorption spectra and show a pronounced dependence of the excited singlet state lifetime on the solvent environment. It is postulated that these effects are related to the presence of an intramolecular charge transfer state strongly coupled to the S{sub 1} (2{sup 1}A{sub g}) excited singlet state. Structural variations in the series of carotenoids studied here make it possible to focus on the general molecular features that control the spectroscopic and dynamic properties of carotenoids.« less

System and Method for Detecting Cracks and their Location

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodward, Stanley E. (Inventor); Shams, Qamar A. (Inventor)

2007-01-01

A system and method are provided for detecting cracks and their location in a structure. A circuit coupled to a structure has capacitive strain sensors coupled sequentially and in parallel to one another. When excited by a variable magnetic field, the circuit has a resonant frequency that is different for unstrained and strained states. In terms of strained states, the resonant frequency is indicative of a region of the circuit that is experiencing strain induced by strain in a region of the structure in proximity to the region of the circuit. An inductor is electrically coupled to one end of each circuit. A magnetic field response recorder wirelessly transmits the variable magnetic field to the inductor and senses the resonant frequency of the circuit so-excited by the variable magnetic field.

Experimental and Theoretical Investigations of Doubly-excited Sextet States in

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Bin; Berry, H. Gordon; Livingston, A. Eugene; Garnir, Henri-Pierre; Bastin, Thierry; Désesquelles, J.

2002-05-01

The energies and wave functions of the highly doubly-excited sextet states of boron-like O IV, F V and Ne VI are calculated with the Multi-Configuration Hartree-Fock (MCHF) plus the hydrogen-like QED effects and higher-order corrections method. The highly doubly-excited sextet states of boron-like O IV, F V and Ne VI are well above several ionization levels and metastable, and possible candidates for XUV- and soft x-ray laser and energy storage. Three doubly-excited sextet configurations (1s2s2p3 6So, 1s2s2p23s 6P and 1s2p33s 6So) are studied. The wavelengths of electric dipole transitions from the inner-shell excited terms 1s2s2p23s 6P-1s2p33s 6So are investigated by the beam-foil spectroscopy in the XUV spectral region. The predicted transition wavelengths agree with the experiment to 0.08Å. The higher-order corrections and fine structures are found to be critically important in these comparisons.

The transition from the open minimum to the ring minimum on the ground state and on the lowest excited state of like symmetry in ozone: A configuration interaction study

DOE PAGES

Theis, Daniel; Ivanic, Joseph; Windus, Theresa L.; ...

2016-03-10

The metastable ring structure of the ozone 1 1A 1 ground state, which theoretical calculations have shown to exist, has so far eluded experimental detection. An accurate prediction for the energy difference between this isomer and the lower open structure is therefore of interest, as is a prediction for the isomerization barrier between them, which results from interactions between the lowest two 1A 1 states. In the present work, valence correlated energies of the 1 1A 1 state and the 2 1A 1 state were calculated at the 1 1A 1 open minimum, the 1 1A 1 ring minimum, themore » transition state between these two minima, the minimum of the 2 1A 1 state, and the conical intersection between the two states. The geometries were determined at the full-valence multi-configuration self-consistent-field level. Configuration interaction (CI) expansions up to quadruple excitations were calculated with triple-zeta atomic basis sets. The CI expansions based on eight different reference configuration spaces were explored. To obtain some of the quadruple excitation energies, the method of CorrelationEnergy Extrapolation by Intrinsic Scaling was generalized to the simultaneous extrapolation for two states. This extrapolation method was shown to be very accurate. On the other hand, none of the CI expansions were found to have converged to millihartree (mh) accuracy at the quadruple excitation level. The data suggest that convergence to mh accuracy is probably attained at the sextuple excitation level. On the 11A1 state, the present calculations yield the estimates of (ring minimum—open minimum) ~45–50 mh and (transition state—open minimum) ~85–90 mh. For the (2 1A 1– 1A 1) excitation energy, the estimate of ~130–170 mh is found at the open minimum and 270–310 mh at the ring minimum. At the transition state, the difference (2 1A 1– 1A 1) is found to be between 1 and 10 mh. The geometry of the transition state on the 11A1 surface and that of the minimum on the 2 1A 1 surface nearly coincide. More accurate predictions of the energydifferences also require CI expansions to at least sextuple excitations with respect to the valence space. Furthermore, for every wave function considered, the omission of the correlations of the 2s oxygen orbitals, which is a widely used approximation, was found to cause errors of about ±10 mh with respect to the energy differences.« less

The transition from the open minimum to the ring minimum on the ground state and on the lowest excited state of like symmetry in ozone: A configuration interaction study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Theis, Daniel; Ivanic, Joseph; Windus, Theresa L.

The metastable ring structure of the ozone 1 1A 1 ground state, which theoretical calculations have shown to exist, has so far eluded experimental detection. An accurate prediction for the energy difference between this isomer and the lower open structure is therefore of interest, as is a prediction for the isomerization barrier between them, which results from interactions between the lowest two 1A 1 states. In the present work, valence correlated energies of the 1 1A 1 state and the 2 1A 1 state were calculated at the 1 1A 1 open minimum, the 1 1A 1 ring minimum, themore » transition state between these two minima, the minimum of the 2 1A 1 state, and the conical intersection between the two states. The geometries were determined at the full-valence multi-configuration self-consistent-field level. Configuration interaction (CI) expansions up to quadruple excitations were calculated with triple-zeta atomic basis sets. The CI expansions based on eight different reference configuration spaces were explored. To obtain some of the quadruple excitation energies, the method of CorrelationEnergy Extrapolation by Intrinsic Scaling was generalized to the simultaneous extrapolation for two states. This extrapolation method was shown to be very accurate. On the other hand, none of the CI expansions were found to have converged to millihartree (mh) accuracy at the quadruple excitation level. The data suggest that convergence to mh accuracy is probably attained at the sextuple excitation level. On the 11A1 state, the present calculations yield the estimates of (ring minimum—open minimum) ~45–50 mh and (transition state—open minimum) ~85–90 mh. For the (2 1A 1– 1A 1) excitation energy, the estimate of ~130–170 mh is found at the open minimum and 270–310 mh at the ring minimum. At the transition state, the difference (2 1A 1– 1A 1) is found to be between 1 and 10 mh. The geometry of the transition state on the 11A1 surface and that of the minimum on the 2 1A 1 surface nearly coincide. More accurate predictions of the energydifferences also require CI expansions to at least sextuple excitations with respect to the valence space. Furthermore, for every wave function considered, the omission of the correlations of the 2s oxygen orbitals, which is a widely used approximation, was found to cause errors of about ±10 mh with respect to the energy differences.« less

Nuclear Data Sheets for A = 70

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gürdal, G.; McCutchan, E.A.

2016-09-15

Spectroscopic data for all nuclei with mass number A = 70 have been evaluated, and the corresponding level schemes from radioactive decay and reaction studies are presented. Since the previous evaluation, the half-life of {sup 70}Mn has been measured and excited states in {sup 70}Fe observed for the first time. Excited states in {sup 70}Ni have been more extensively studied while Coulomb excitation and collinear laser spectroscopy measurements in {sup 70}Cu have allowed for firm Jπ assignments. Despite new measurements, there remain some discrepancies in half-lives of low lying states in {sup 70}Zn. New measurements have extended the knowledge ofmore » high-spin band structures in {sup 70}Ge and {sup 70}As. This evaluation supersedes the prior A = 70 evaluation of 2004Tu09.« less

Channel branching ratios in CH2CN- photodetachment: Rotational structure and vibrational energy redistribution in autodetachment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyle, Justin; Wedig, Olivia; Gulania, Sahil; Krylov, Anna I.; Mabbs, Richard

2017-12-01

We report photoelectron spectra of CH2CN-, recorded at photon energies between 13 460 and 15 384 cm-1, which show rapid intensity variations in particular detachment channels. The branching ratios for various spectral features reveal rotational structure associated with autodetachment from an intermediate anion state. Calculations using equation-of-motion coupled-cluster method with single and double excitations reveal the presence of two dipole-bound excited anion states (a singlet and a triplet). The computed oscillator strength for the transition to the singlet dipole-bound state provides an estimate of the autodetachment channel contribution to the total photoelectron yield. Analysis of the different spectral features allows identification of the dipole-bound and neutral vibrational levels involved in the autodetachment processes. For the most part, the autodetachment channels are consistent with the vibrational propensity rule and normal mode expectation. However, examination of the rotational structure shows that autodetachment from the ν3 (v = 1 and v = 2) levels of the dipole-bound state displays behavior counter to the normal mode expectation with the final state vibrational level belonging to a different mode.

Research investigation directed toward extending the useful range of the electromagnetic spectrum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartmann, S. R.

1971-01-01

The lifetimes and fine structure of He(-) were studied using time-of-flight techniques and quenching by a static axial magnetic field. Using level-crossing spectroscopy the hyperfine constants A and B and the lifetime of the 3 2P3/2 state of Li-7 were measured. Polarization of the Ru 7S level was created as a first step in determining the hyperfine structure of the alkali excited S state. The parametric interaction between light and microwaves in optically pumped Rb-87 vapor were investigated. Measurements and analyses of transitions in formaldehyde and its isotopic species and in the lowest two excited vibrational states of H2CO were also made, as well as of transitions in furan, pyrrole, formic acid, and cyanoacetylene. The Hanle effect was studied in the NO molecule, and RF oscillators were developed with flat, wideband output to observe excited state hyperfine transitions at zero field. Data was generated on the time-dependent behavior of photon echoes in ruby. Stimulated Raman scattering was studied in atomic Tl vapor. A Q switched, temperature-tuned ruby laser was developed which operates between 6934 and 6938 A. The frequency shift due to resonant interaction between identical radiating atoms was calculated.

Ultrafast time-resolved pump-probe spectroscopy of PYP by a sub-8 fs pulse laser at 400 nm.

PubMed

Liu, Jun; Yabushita, Atsushi; Taniguchi, Seiji; Chosrowjan, Haik; Imamoto, Yasushi; Sueda, Keiichi; Miyanaga, Noriaki; Kobayashi, Takayoshi

2013-05-02

Impulsive excitation of molecular vibration is known to induce wave packets in both the ground state and excited state. Here, the ultrafast dynamics of PYP was studied by pump-probe spectroscopy using a sub-8 fs pulse laser at 400 nm. The broadband spectrum of the UV pulse allowed us to detect the pump-probe signal covering 360-440 nm. The dependence of the vibrational phase of the vibrational mode around 1155 cm(-1) on the probe photon energy was observed for the first time to our knowledge. The vibrational mode coupled to the electronic transition observed in the probe spectral ranges of 2.95-3.05 and 3.15-3.35 eV was attributed to the wave packets in the ground state and the excited state, respectively. The frequencies in the ground state and excited state were determined to be 1155 ± 1 and 1149 ± 1 cm(-1), respectively. The frequency difference is due to change after photoexcitation. This means a reduction of the bond strength associated with π-π* excitation, which is related to the molecular structure change associated with the primary isomerization process in the photocycle in PYP. Real-time vibrational modes at low frequency around 138, 179, 203, 260, and 317 cm(-1) were also observed and compared with the Raman spectrum for the assignment of the vibrational wave packet.

Chemistry, photophysics, and ultrafast kinetics of two structurally related Schiff bases containing the naphthalene or quinoline ring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fita, P.; Luzina, E.; Dziembowska, T.; Radzewicz, Cz.; Grabowska, A.

2006-11-01

The two structurally related Schiff bases, 2-hydroxynaphthylidene-(8-aminoquinoline) (HNAQ) and 2-hydroxynaphthylidene-1'-naphthylamine (HNAN), were studied by means of steady-state and time resolved optical spectroscopies as well as time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations. The first one, HNAQ, is stable as a keto tautomer in the ground state and in the excited state in solutions, therefore it was used as a model of a keto tautomer of HNAN which exists mainly in its enol form in the ground state at room temperature. Excited state intramolecular proton transfer in the HNAN molecule leads to a very weak (quantum yield of the order of 10-4) strongly Stokes-shifted fluorescence. The characteristic time of the proton transfer (about 30fs) was estimated from femtosecond transient absorption data supported by global analysis and deconvolution techniques. Approximately 35% of excited molecules create a photochromic form whose lifetime was beyond the time window of the experiment (2ns). The remaining ones reach the relaxed S1 state (of a lifetime of approximately 4ps), whose emission is present in the decay associated difference spectra. Some evidence for the back proton transfer from the ground state of the keto form with the characteristic time of approximately 13ps was also found. The energies and orbital characteristics of main electronic transitions in both molecules calculated by TDDFT method are also discussed.

Radiationless Transitions and Excited-State Absorption in Tunable Laser Materials

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-09-01

chromium - doped halide elpasolites K2 NaGaF 6 , K2 NaScF6 and Cs2NaYCl 6 , and on the laser-active TI0 (l) color center in KCI. Luminescence lifetime...Non-radiative transitions, transition metals, chromium , ¶SLWmER o E tunable lasers, high pressure, luminescence, color centers ൙. SECURITY O...quenching and excited-state absorption are major loss mechanisms. Low-crystal-field chromium complexes in ordered perovskites of cubic elpasolite structure

Red phosphorescence from benzo[2,1,3]thiadiazoles at room temperature

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gutierrez, Gregory D.; Sazama, Graham T.; Wu, Tony

2016-05-23

In this paper, we describe the red phosphorescence exhibited by a class of structurally simple benzo[2,1,3]thiadiazoles at room temperature. The photophysical properties of these molecules in deoxygenated cyclohexane, including their absorption spectra, steady-state photoluminescence and excitation spectra, and phosphorescence lifetimes, are presented. Finally, time-dependent density functional theory calculations were carried out to better understand the electronic excited states of these benzo[2,1,3]thiadiazoles and why they are capable of phosphorescence.

Spectral Dissimilarities Between AZULENE(C10H_8) and NAPHTHALENE(C10H_8)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baba, Masaaki

2010-06-01

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are of great interest in the molecular structure and excited-state dynamics, and there have been extensive spectroscopic and theoretical studies. Azulene and naphthalene are bicyclic aromatic hydrocarbons composed of odd- and even-membered rings, respectively. First, they were discriminated by a theory of mutual polarizability. Naphthalene is an alternant hydrocarbon, but azulene is not. In contrast, spectral resemblances were found by John Platt et al., and were explained by their simple model of molecular orbital. However, the absorption and emission feature of the S_1 and S_2 states is completely different each other. We have investigated each rotational and vibrational structures, and radiative and nonradiative processes by means of high-resolution spectroscopy and ab initio calculation. The equilibrium structures in the S_0, S_1, and S_2 states are similar. This small structural change upon electronic excitation is common to PAH molecules composed of six-membered rings. The fluorescence quantum yield is high because radiationless transitions such as intersystem crossing (ISC) to the triplet state and internal conversion (IC) to the S_0 state are very slow in the S_1 state. In contrast, the S_1 state of azulene is nonfluorescent and the S_1 ← S_0 excitation energy is abnormally small. We consider that the potential energy curve of a b_2 vibration is shallower in the S_1 state, and therefore the vibronic coupling with the S_0 state is strong to enhance the IC process remarkably. This situation is, of course, due to its peculiar characteristics of odd-membered rings and molecular symmetry, which are completely different from the naphthalene molecule. C. A. Coulson and H. C. Longuet-Higgins, Proc. Roy. Soc. A, 191, 39 (1947) D. E. Mann, J. R. Platt, and H. B. Klevens, J. Chem. Phys., 17, 481 (1949) Y. Semba, M. Baba, et al., J. Chem. Phys., 131, 024303 (2009) K. Yoshida, M. Baba, et al., J. Chem. Phys., 130, 194304 (2009)

Evidence and mechanism of efficient thermally activated delayed fluorescence promoted by delocalized excited states

PubMed Central

Hosokai, Takuya; Matsuzaki, Hiroyuki; Nakanotani, Hajime; Tokumaru, Katsumi; Tsutsui, Tetsuo; Furube, Akihiro; Nasu, Keirou; Nomura, Hiroko; Yahiro, Masayuki; Adachi, Chihaya

2017-01-01

The design of organic compounds with nearly no gap between the first excited singlet (S1) and triplet (T1) states has been demonstrated to result in an efficient spin-flip transition from the T1 to S1 state, that is, reverse intersystem crossing (RISC), and facilitate light emission as thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF). However, many TADF molecules have shown that a relatively appreciable energy difference between the S1 and T1 states (~0.2 eV) could also result in a high RISC rate. We revealed from a comprehensive study of optical properties of TADF molecules that the formation of delocalized states is the key to efficient RISC and identified a chemical template for these materials. In addition, simple structural confinement further enhances RISC by suppressing structural relaxation in the triplet states. Our findings aid in designing advanced organic molecules with a high rate of RISC and, thus, achieving the maximum theoretical electroluminescence efficiency in organic light-emitting diodes. PMID:28508081

Excited states of aniline by photoabsorption spectroscopy in the 30,000-90,000 cm(-1) region using synchrotron radiation.

PubMed

Rajasekhar, B N; Veeraiah, A; Sunanda, K; Jagatap, B N

2013-08-14

The photoabsorption spectrum of aniline (C6H5NH2) in gas phase in the 30,000-90,000 cm(-1) (3.7-11.2 eV) region is recorded at resolution limit of 0.008 eV using synchrotron radiation source for the first time to comprehend the nature of the excited valence and Rydberg states. The first half of the energy interval constitutes the richly structured valence transitions from the ground to excited states up to the first ionization potential (IP) at 8.02 eV. The spectrum in the second half consists of vibrational features up to second IP (9.12 eV) and structureless broad continuum up to the third IP (10.78 eV). The electronic states are assigned mainly to the singlets belonging to π → π* transitions. A few weak initial members of Rydberg states arising from π → 4s, np or nd transitions are also identified. Observed vibrational features are assigned to transitions from the ground state A' to the excited states 1A", 3A', 5A", 6A', and 10A" in C(s) symmetry. Time dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations at B3LYP level of theory are employed to obtain the vertical excitation energies and the symmetries of the excited states in equilibrium configuration. The computed values of the transition energies agree fairly well with the experimental data. Further the calculated oscillator strengths are used to substantiate the assignments of the bands. The work provides a comprehensive picture of the vacuum ultraviolet photoabsorption spectrum of aniline up to its third ionization limit.

Coulomb energy differences in isobaric multiplets

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lenzi, S. M.; Farnea, E.; Bazzacco, D.

2007-02-12

By comparing the excitation energies of analogue states in isobaric multiplets, several nuclear structure properties can be studied as a function of the angular momentum up to high spin states. In particular, the mirror nuclei 35Ar and 35Cl show large differences between the excitation energies of analogue negative-parity states at high spin, confirming the important contribution of the relativistic electromagnetic spin-orbit interaction to the Coulomb energy. The single-particle character of the configuration of these states is reproduced with very good accuracy by shell model calculations in the sd and pf shells valence space. In addition, evidence of isospin mixing ismore » deduced from the El transitions linking positive and negative parity states.« less

Coupled channels description of the α-decay fine structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delion, D. S.; Ren, Zhongzhou; Dumitrescu, A.; Ni, Dongdong

2018-05-01

We review the coupled channels approach of α transitions to excited states. The α-decaying states are identified as narrow outgoing Gamow resonances in an α-daughter potential. The real part of the eigenvalue corresponds to the Q-value, while the imaginary part determines the half of the total α-decay width. We first review the calculations describing transitions to rotational states treated by the rigid rotator model, in even–even, odd-mass and odd–odd nuclei. It is found that the semiclassical method overestimates the branching ratios to excited 4+ for some even–even α-emitters and fails in explaining the unexpected inversion of branching ratios of some odd-mass nuclei, while the coupled-channels results show good agreement with the experimental data. Then, we review the coupled channels method for α-transitions to 2+ vibrational and transitional states. We present the results of the Coherent State Model that describes in a unified way the spectra of vibrational, transitional and rotational nuclei. We evidence general features of the α-decay fine structure, namely the linear dependence between α-intensities and excitation energy, the linear correlation between the strength of the α-core interaction and spectroscopic factor, and the inverse correlation between the nuclear collectivity, given by electromagnetic transitions, and α-clustering.

Excitation of higher lying energy states in a rubidium DPAL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wallerstein, A. J.; Perram, Glen; Rice, Christopher A.

2018-02-01

The spontaneous emission in a cw rubidium diode dumped alkali laser (DPAL) system was analyzed. The fluorescence from higher lying states decreases with additional buffer gas. The intermediate states (7S, 6P, 5D) decay more slowly with buffer gas and scale super-linearly with alkali density. A detailed kinetic model has been constructed, where the dominant mechanisms are energy pooling and single photon ionization. It also includes pumping into the non-Lorentzian wings of absorption profiles, fine structure mixing, collisional de-excitation, and Penning ionization. Effects of ionization in a high powered CW rubidium DPAL were assessed.

Effect of charged and excited states on the decomposition of 1,1-diamino-2,2-dinitroethylene molecules

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kimmel, Anna V.; Sushko, Peter V.; Shluger, Alexander L.

The authors have calculated the electronic structure of individual 1,1-diamino-2,2-dinitroethylene molecules (FOX-7) in the gas phase by means of density functional theory with the hybrid B3LYP functional and 6-31+G(d,p) basis set and considered their dissociation pathways. Positively and negatively charged states as well as the lowest excited states of the molecule were simulated. They found that charging and excitation can not only reduce the activation barriers for decomposition reactions but also change the dominating chemistry from endo- to exothermic type. In particular, they found that there are two competing primary initiation mechanisms of FOX-7 decomposition: C-NO{sub 2} bond fission andmore » C-NO{sub 2} to CONO isomerization. Electronic excitation or charging of FOX-7 disfavors CONO formation and, thus, terminates this channel of decomposition. However, if CONO is formed from the neutral FOX-7 molecule, charge trapping and/or excitation results in spontaneous splitting of an NO group accompanied by the energy release. Intramolecular hydrogen transfer is found to be a rare event in FOX-7 unless free electrons are available in the vicinity of the molecule, in which case HONO formation is a feasible exothermic reaction with a relatively low energy barrier. The effect of charged and excited states on other possible reactions is also studied. Implications of the obtained results to FOX-7 decomposition in condensed state are discussed.« less

Magnetic structures and excitations in a multiferroic Y-type hexaferrite BaSrCo 2 Fe 11 AlO 22

DOE PAGES

Nakajima, Taro; Tokunaga, Yusuke; Matsuda, Masaaki; ...

2016-11-30

Here, we have investigated magnetic orders and excitations in a Y-type hexaferrite BaSrCo 2Fe 11AlO 22 (BSCoFAO), which was reported to exhibit spin-driven ferroelectricity at room temperature. By means of magnetization, electric polarization, and neutron-diffraction measurements using single-crystal samples, we establish a H-T magnetic phase diagram for magnetic field perpendicular to the c axis (H ⟂c). This system exhibits an alternating longitudinal conical (ALC) magnetic structure in the ground state, and it turns into a non-co-planar commensurate magnetic order with spin-driven ferroelectricity under H ⟂c. The field-induced ferroelectric phase remains as a metastable state after removing magnetic field below 250more » K. This metastability is the key to understanding of magnetic field reversal of the spin-driven electric polarization in this system. Inelastic polarized neutron-scattering measurements in the ALC phase reveal a magnetic excitation at around 7.5 meV, which is attributed to spin components oscillating in a plane perpendicular to the cone axis. This phasonlike excitation is expected to be an electric-field active magnon, i.e., electromagnon excitation, in terms of the magnetostriction mechanism.« less

Magnetic structures and excitations in a multiferroic Y-type hexaferrite BaSrCo2Fe11AlO22

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakajima, Taro; Tokunaga, Yusuke; Matsuda, Masaaki; Dissanayake, Sachith; Fernandez-Baca, Jaime; Kakurai, Kazuhisa; Taguchi, Yasujiro; Tokura, Yoshinori; Arima, Taka-hisa

2016-11-01

We have investigated magnetic orders and excitations in a Y-type hexaferrite BaSrCo2Fe11AlO22 (BSCoFAO), which was reported to exhibit spin-driven ferroelectricity at room temperature [S. Hirose, K. Haruki, A. Ando, and T. Kimura, Appl. Phys. Lett. 104, 022907 (2014), 10.1063/1.4862432]. By means of magnetization, electric polarization, and neutron-diffraction measurements using single-crystal samples, we establish a H -T magnetic phase diagram for magnetic field perpendicular to the c axis (H⊥c). This system exhibits an alternating longitudinal conical (ALC) magnetic structure in the ground state, and it turns into a non-co-planar commensurate magnetic order with spin-driven ferroelectricity under H⊥c. The field-induced ferroelectric phase remains as a metastable state after removing magnetic field below ˜250 K. This metastability is the key to understanding of magnetic field reversal of the spin-driven electric polarization in this system. Inelastic polarized neutron-scattering measurements in the ALC phase reveal a magnetic excitation at around 7.5 meV, which is attributed to spin components oscillating in a plane perpendicular to the cone axis. This phasonlike excitation is expected to be an electric-field active magnon, i.e., electromagnon excitation, in terms of the magnetostriction mechanism.

Sub-Nanosecond Lifetime Measurement Using the Recoil-Distance Method

PubMed Central

Wu, Ching-Yen

2000-01-01

The electromagnetic properties of low-lying nuclear states are a sensitive probe of both collective and single-particle degrees of freedom in nuclear structure. The recoil-distance technique provides a very reliable, direct and precise method for measuring lifetimes of nuclear states with lifetimes ranging from less than one to several hundred picoseconds. This method complements the powerful, but complicated, heavy-ion induced Coulomb excitation technique for measuring electromagnetic properties. The recoil distance technique has been combined with heavy-ion induced Coulomb excitation to study a variety of problems. Examples discussed are: study of the two-phonon triplet in 110Pd, coupling of the β and γ degrees of freedom in 182,184W, highly deformed γ bands in 165Ho, octupole collectivity in 96Zr, and opposite parity states in 153Eu. Consistency between the Coulomb excitation results and the lifetime measurements confirms the reliability of the complex analysis often encountered in heavy-ion induced Coulomb excitation work. PMID:27551588

Rotational Spectrum of 1,1-Difluoroethane: Internal Rotation Analysis and Structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Villamanan, R. M.; Chen, W. D.; Wlodarczak, G.; Demaison, J.; Lesarri, A. G.; Lopez, J. C.; Alonso, J. L.

1995-05-01

The rotational spectrum of CH3CHF2 in its ground state was measured up to 653 GHz. Accurate rotational and centrifugal distortion constants were determined. The internal rotation splittings were analyzed using the internal axis method. An ab initio structure has been calculated and a near-equilibrium structure has been estimated using offsets derived empirically. This structure was compared to an experimental r0 structure. The four lowest excited states (including the methyl torsion) have also been assigned.

Multi-quasiparticle excitations in145Tb

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Yong; Zhou, Xiaohong; Zhang, Yuhu; Liu, Minliang; Guo, Yingxiang; Lei, Xiangguo; Hayakawa, T.; Oshima, M.; Toh, T.; Shizuma, T.; Katakura, J.; Hatsukawa, Y.; Matsuda, M.; Kusakari, H.; Sugawara, M.

2004-09-01

High-spin states in145Tb have been populated using the118Sn (32S, 1p4n) reaction at beam energy of 165 MeV. The level scheme of145Tb has been established up to Ex≈7.4 MeV. The level scheme shows characteristics of a spherical or slightly oblate nucleus. Based on the systematic trends of the level structure in the neighboring N=80 isotones, the level structure in145Tb below 2 MeV excitation is well eplained by coupling an h 11/2 valence proton to the even-even144Gd core. Above 2 MeV excitation, most of the yrast levels are interpreted with multi-quasiparticle shell-model configurations.

Nuclear structure studies of 141Ce and 147Sm using deep-inelastic collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gass, E. J.; McCutchan, E. A.; Sonzogni, A. A.; Loveland, W.; Barrett, J. S.; Yanez, R.; Chiara, C. J.; Harker, J. L.; Walters, W. B.; Zhu, S.; Ayangeakaai, A. D.; Carpenter, M. P.; Greene, J. P.; Janssens, R. V. F.; Lauritsen, T.; Naïdja, H.

2017-09-01

Nuclei with a few valence nucleons outside of the magic numbers are essential for testing the nuclear shell model and gathering information on the residual interactions and energies of single-particle levels. The present work focused on the high-spin structures of 141Ce (N = 83) and 147Sm (N = 85). These nuclei are not produced by heavy-ion fusion-evaporation or fission reactions, therefore little was known about their high-spin structure. A deep-inelastic reaction using a beam of 136Xe incident on a thick target of 208Pb was used to populate excited states in the nuclei. The Gammasphere array at Argonne National Laboratory was used to detect the resulting de-excitation -ray transitions. The level schemes of both nuclei were significantly extended to high angular momentum and high excitation energy. In 141Ce, this included a number of states built on the i13/2, 1369-keV level. Results of the present analysis will be compared to state-of-the-art shell model calculations. Supported by US DOE under the SULI Program and Grant Nos. DE-FG06-97ER41026 and DE-FG02-94ER40834 and Contract Nos. DE-AC02-06CH11357 and DE-AC02-06CH10886.

Structure of states in 12Be via the 11Be( d,p) reaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanungo, R.; Gallant, A. T.; Uchida, M.; Andreoiu, C.; Austin, R. A. E.; Bandyopadhyay, D.; Ball, G. C.; Becker, J. A.; Boston, A. J.; Boston, H. C.; Brown, B. A.; Buchmann, L.; Colosimo, S. J.; Clark, R. M.; Cline, D.; Cross, D. S.; Dare, H.; Davids, B.; Drake, T. E.; Djongolov, M.; Finlay, P.; Galinski, N.; Garrett, P. E.; Garnsworthy, A. B.; Green, K. L.; Grist, S.; Hackman, G.; Harkness, L. J.; Hayes, A. B.; Howell, D.; Hurst, A. M.; Jeppesen, H. B.; Leach, K. G.; Macchiavelli, A. O.; Oxley, D.; Pearson, C. J.; Pietras, B.; Phillips, A. A.; Rigby, S. V.; Ruiz, C.; Ruprecht, G.; Sarazin, F.; Schumaker, M. A.; Shotter, A. C.; Sumitharachchi, C. S.; Svensson, C. E.; Tanihata, I.; Triambak, S.; Unsworth, C.; Williams, S. J.; Walden, P.; Wong, J.; Wu, C. Y.

2010-01-01

The s-wave neutron fraction of the 0 levels in 12Be has been investigated for the first time through the 11Be(d,p) transfer reaction using a 5 A MeV11Be beam at TRIUMF, Canada. The reaction populated all the known bound states of 12Be. The ground state s-wave spectroscopic factor was determined to be 0.28-0.07+0.03 while that for the long-lived 02+ excited state was 0.73-0.40+0.27. This observation, together with the smaller effective separation energy indicates enhanced probability for an extended density tail beyond the 10Be core for the 02+ excited state compared to the ground state.

Structure Optimization of 21,23-Core-Modified Porphyrins Absorbing Long-Wavelength Light as Potential Photosensitizers Against Breast Cancer Cells

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-04-01

recording singlet oxygen emission spectra. A diode -pumped solid-state laser (Millenia X, Spectra-Physics) at 532 nm was the excitation source. The sample...biological properties in vitro Youngjae You,a,* Scott L. Gibsonb and Michael R. Dettya aInstitute for Lasers , Photonics, and Biophotonics, Department...relative to the exciting laser beam. An additional long-pass filter (850LP) was used to attenuate the excitation laser and the fluorescence from the

Dipole and spin-dipole strength distributions in ^{124,126,128,130} Te isotopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cakmak, Necla; Cakmak, Sadiye; Selam, Cevad; Unlu, Serdar

2018-02-01

We try to present the structure of 1- excitations in open-shell ^{124,126,128,130} Te isotopes. Electric dipole states are investigated within a translational and Galilean invariant model. Also, a theoretical description of charge-conserving spin-dipole {1}- excitations is presented for the same isotopes. The energy spectra for both kinds of excitations are analysed in detail. Furthermore, a comparison of the calculated cross-sections and energies with the available experimental data is given.

Particle-hole symmetry, many-body localization, and topological edge modes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vasseur, Romain; Friedman, Aaron J.; Parameswaran, S. A.; Potter, Andrew C.

We study the excited states of interacting fermions in one dimension with particle-hole symmetric disorder (equivalently, random-bond XXZ chains) using a combination of renormalization group methods and exact diagonalization. Absent interactions, the entire many-body spectrum exhibits infinite-randomness quantum critical behavior with highly degenerate excited states. We show that though interactions are an irrelevant perturbation in the ground state, they drastically affect the structure of excited states: even arbitrarily weak interactions split the degeneracies in favor of thermalization (weak disorder) or spontaneously broken particle-hole symmetry, driving the system into a many-body localized spin glass phase (strong disorder). In both cases, the quantum critical properties of the non-interacting model are destroyed, either by thermal decoherence or spontaneous symmetry breaking. This system then has the interesting and counterintuitive property that edges of the many-body spectrum are less localized than the center of the spectrum. We argue that our results rule out the existence of certain excited state symmetry-protected topological orders. Supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation's EPiQS Initiative (Grant GBMF4307 (ACP), the Quantum Materials Program at LBNL (RV), NSF Grant DMR-1455366 and UCOP Research Catalyst Award No. CA-15-327861 (SAP).

Experimental and theoretical investigations of the electronic band structure of metal-organic frameworks of HKUST-1 type

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gu, Zhi-Gang; State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 350002 Fuzhou; Heinke, Lars, E-mail: Lars.Heinke@KIT.edu

The electronic properties of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are increasingly attracting the attention due to potential applications in sensor techniques and (micro-) electronic engineering, for instance, as low-k-dielectric in semiconductor technology. Here, the band gap and the band structure of MOFs of type HKUST-1 are studied in detail by means of spectroscopic ellipsometry applied to thin surface-mounted MOF films and by means of quantum chemical calculations. The analysis of the density of states, the band structure, and the excitation spectrum reveal the importance of the empty Cu-3d orbitals for the electronic properties of HKUST-1. This study shows that, in contrast tomore » common belief, even in the case of this fairly “simple” MOF, the excitation spectra cannot be explained by a superposition of “intra-unit” excitations within the individual building blocks. Instead, “inter-unit” excitations also have to be considered.« less

Structure dependent selective efficacy of pyridine and pyrrole based Cu(II) Schiff base complexes towards in vitro cytotoxicity, apoptosis and DNA-bases binding in ground and excited state.

PubMed

Koley Seth, Banabithi; Saha, Arpita; Haldar, Srijan; Chakraborty, Partha Pratim; Saha, Partha; Basu, Samita

2016-09-01

This work highlights a systematic and comparative study of the structure-dependent influence of a series of biologically active Cu(II) Schiff base complexes (CSCs) on their in vitro cytotoxicity, apoptosis and binding with polymeric DNA-bases in ground and photo-excited states. The structure-activity relationship of the closely resembled CSCs towards in vitro cytotoxicity and apoptosis against cervical cancerous HeLa and normal human diploid WI-38 cell lines has been investigated by MTT assay and FACS techniques respectively. The steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic studies have also been carried out to explore the selective binding affinities of the potential complexes towards different polymeric nucleic acid bases (poly d(A), poly d(T), poly d(G), poly d(C), Poly d(G)-Poly d(C)), which enlighten the knowledge regarding their ability in controlling the structure and medium dependent interactions in 'ground' and 'excited' states. The pyridine containing water soluble complexes (CuL(1) and CuL(3)) are much more cytotoxic than the corresponding pyrrole counterparts (CuL(2) and CuL(4)). Moreover the acidic hydrogens in CuL(1) increase its cytotoxicity much more than methyl substitution as in CuL(3). The results of MTT assay and double staining FACS experiments indicate selective inhibition of cell growth (cell viability 39% (HeLa) versus 85% (WI-38)) and occurrence of apoptosis rather than necrosis. The ground state binding of CuL(1) with polymeric DNA bases, especially with guanine rich DNA (Kb=6.41±0.122×10(5)), that enhances its cytotoxic activity, is further confirmed from its binding isotherms. On the other hand the pyrrole substituted CuL(4) complex exhibits the structure and medium dependent selective electron-transfer in triplet state as observed in laser flash photolysis studies followed by magnetic field (MF) effect. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jay, Raphael M.; Norell, Jesper; Eckert, Sebastian

Soft X-ray spectroscopies are ideal probes of the local valence electronic structure of photocatalytically active metal sites. Here, we apply the selectivity of time-resolved resonant inelastic X-ray scattering at the iron L-edge to the transient charge distribution of an optically excited charge-transfer state in aqueous ferricyanide. Through comparison to steady-state spectra and quantum chemical calculations, the coupled effects of valence-shell closing and ligand-hole creation are experimentally and theoretically disentangled and described in terms of orbital occupancy, metal–ligand covalency, and ligand field splitting, thereby extending established steady-state concepts to the excited-state domain. π-Back-donation is found to be mainly determined by themore » metal site occupation, whereas the ligand hole instead influences σ-donation. Here, our results demonstrate how ultrafast resonant inelastic X-ray scattering can help characterize local charge distributions around catalytic metal centers in short-lived charge-transfer excited states, as a step toward future rationalization and tailoring of photocatalytic capabilities of transition-metal complexes.« less

Spectroscopic and structural investigation for the ground and excited states of CaNa+ molecular ion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jellali, Soulef; Habli, Héla; Mejrissi, Leila; Hamdi, Rafika; Oujia, Brahim; Xavier Gadéa, Florent

2018-04-01

In the current theoretical study, we investigated several electronic states correlated with the {Ca+Na+} and {Ca++Na} asymptotic limits of different symmetries (Σ+, Π, Δ). Our calculations were based on ab intio method using semi-empirical pseudo-potential theory of both cores Na+ and Ca2+ and Full Configuration Interaction (FCI). Hence, we computed the adiabatic potential energy curves (PECs) and vibrational levels of the ground state along with several higher states of (CaNa)+ molecular ion. From these curves, we extracted all related spectroscopic parameters (De, D0, Te, Re, Be, ωe and ωeχe). Dipolar properties of (CaNa)+ such as Permanent and Transition Dipole Moments (PDM, TDM) were determined and analyzed. Numerous Avoided Crossings (ACs) were detected in PECs and their reflections were clearly observed in PDM and TDM functions. The strong interactions could lead to significant charge or excitation transfer for atom-ion collisions in the diverse charge or excited states.

Structure of 14C and 14B from the C,1514(d ,3He)B,1413 reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bedoor, S.; Wuosmaa, A. H.; Albers, M.; Alcorta, M.; Almaraz-Calderon, Sergio; Back, B. B.; Bertone, P. F.; Deibel, C. M.; Hoffman, C. R.; Lighthall, J. C.; Marley, S. T.; Mcneel, D. G.; Pardo, R. C.; Rehm, K. E.; Schiffer, J. P.; Shetty, D. V.

2016-04-01

We have studied the C,1514(d ,3He)B,1413 proton-removing reactions in inverse kinematics. The (d ,3He ) reaction probes the proton occupation of the target ground state, and also provides spectroscopic information about the final states in B,1413. The experiments were performed using C,1514 beams from the ATLAS accelerator at Argonne National Laboratory. The reaction products were analyzed with the HELIOS device. Angular distributions were obtained for transitions from both reactions. The 14C-beam data reveal transitions to excited states in 13B that suggest configurations with protons outside the π (0 p3 /2) orbital, and some possibility of proton cross-shell 0 p -1 s 0 d excitations, in the 14C ground state. The 15C-beam data confirm the existence of a broad 2- excited state in 14B. The experimental data are compared to the results of shell-model calculations.

Fast Photochemistry of Prototypical Phytochromes—A Species vs. Subunit Specific Comparison

PubMed Central

Ihalainen, Janne A.; Takala, Heikki; Lehtivuori, Heli

2015-01-01

Phytochromes are multi-domain red light photosensor proteins, which convert red light photons to biological activity utilizing the multitude of structural and chemical reactions. The steady increase in structural information obtained from various bacteriophytochromes has increased understanding about the functional mechanism of the photochemical processes of the phytochromes. Furthermore, a number of spectroscopic studies have revealed kinetic information about the light-induced reactions. The spectroscopic changes are, however, challenging to connect with the structural changes of the chromophore and the protein environment, as the excited state properties of the chromophores are very sensitive to the small structural and chemical changes of their environment. In this article, we concentrate on the results of ultra-fast spectroscopic experiments which reveal information about the important initial steps of the photoreactions of the phytochromes. We survey the excited state properties obtained during the last few decades. The differences in kinetics between different research laboratories are traditionally related to the differences of the studied species. However, we notice that the variation in the excited state properties depends on the subunit composition of the protein as well. This observation illustrates a feedback mechanism from the other domains to the chromophore. We propose that two feedback routes exist in phytochromes between the chromophore and the remotely located effector domain. The well-known connection between the subunits is the so-called tongue region, which changes its secondary structure while changing the light-activated state of the system. The other feedback route which we suggest is less obvious, it is made up of several water molecules ranging from the dimer interface to the vicinity of the chromophore, allowing even proton transfer reactions nearby the chromophore. PMID:26779488

Convoy electron emission from resonant coherently excited 390 MeV/u hydrogen-like Ar ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azuma, T.; Takabayashi, Y.; Ito, T.; Komaki, K.; Yamazaki, Y.; Takada, E.; Murakami, T.

2003-12-01

Energetic ions traveling through a single crystal are excited by an oscillating crystal field produced by a periodic arrangement of the atomic strings/planes, which is called Resonant Coherent Excitation (RCE). We have observed enhancement of convoy electron yields associated with RCE of 1s electron to the n=2 excited states of 390 MeV/u hydrogen-like Ar 17+ ions passing through a Si crystal in the (2 2¯ 0) planar channeling condition. Lost electrons from projectile ions due to ionization contribute to convoy electrons emitted in the forward direction with the same velocity as the projectile ions. With combination of a magnet and a thick Si solid-state detector, we measured the energy spectra of convoy electrons of about 200 keV emitted at 0°. The convoy electron yield as a function of the transition energy, i.e. the resonance profile, has a similar structure to the resonance profile observed through the ionized fraction of the emerging ions. It is explained by the fact that both enhancements are due to increase in the fraction of the excited states from which electrons are more easily ionized by target electron impact in the crystal than from the ground state.

Different equation-of-motion coupled cluster methods with different reference functions: The formyl radical

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuś, Tomasz; Bartlett, Rodney J.

2008-09-01

The doublet and quartet excited states of the formyl radical have been studied by the equation-of-motion (EOM) coupled cluster (CC) method. The Sz spin-conserving singles and doubles (EOM-EE-CCSD) and singles, doubles, and triples (EOM-EE-CCSDT) approaches, as well as the spin-flipped singles and doubles (EOM-SF-CCSD) method have been applied, subject to unrestricted Hartree-Fock (HF), restricted open-shell HF, and quasirestricted HF references. The structural parameters, vertical and adiabatic excitation energies, and harmonic vibrational frequencies have been calculated. The issue of the reference function choice for the spin-flipped (SF) method and its impact on the results has been discussed using the experimental data and theoretical results available. The results show that if the appropriate reference function is chosen so that target states differ from the reference by only single excitations, then EOM-EE-CCSD and EOM-SF-CCSD methods give a very good description of the excited states. For the states that have a non-negligible contribution of the doubly excited configurations one is able to use the SF method with such a reference function, that in most cases the performance of the EOM-SF-CCSD method is better than that of the EOM-EE-CCSD approach.

Christopher Chang | NREL

Science.gov Websites

transition metal systems, macromolecular dynamics, comparative chemical bonding analysis, electron transfer . Research Interests Dynamics and control on discrete structures, including excited-state transition metal

β decay of Si 38 , 40 ( T z = + 5 , + 6 ) to low-lying core excited states in odd-odd P 38 , 40 isotopes

DOE PAGES

Tripathi, Vandana; Lubna, R. S.; Abromeit, B.; ...

2017-02-08

Low-lying excited states in P 38,40 have been identified in the β decay of T z=+5,+6, Si 38,40. Based on the allowed nature of the Gamow-Teller (GT) decay observed, these states are assigned spin and parity of 1 + and are core-excited 1p1h intruder states with a parity opposite to the ground state. The occurrence of intruder states at low energies highlights the importance of pairing and quadrupole correlation energies in lowering the intruder states despite the N=20 shell gap. Configuration interaction shell model calculations with the state-of-art SDPF-MU effective interaction were performed to understand the structure of these 1p1hmore » states in the even-A phosphorus isotopes. States in P 40 with N=25 were found to have very complex configurations involving all the fp orbitals leading to deformed states as seen in neutron-rich nuclei with N≈28. The calculated GT matrix elements for the β decay highlight the dominance of the decay of the core neutrons rather than the valence neutrons.« less

β decay of Si 38 , 40 ( T z = + 5 , + 6 ) to low-lying core excited states in odd-odd P 38 , 40 isotopes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tripathi, Vandana; Lubna, R. S.; Abromeit, B.

Low-lying excited states in P 38,40 have been identified in the β decay of T z=+5,+6, Si 38,40. Based on the allowed nature of the Gamow-Teller (GT) decay observed, these states are assigned spin and parity of 1 + and are core-excited 1p1h intruder states with a parity opposite to the ground state. The occurrence of intruder states at low energies highlights the importance of pairing and quadrupole correlation energies in lowering the intruder states despite the N=20 shell gap. Configuration interaction shell model calculations with the state-of-art SDPF-MU effective interaction were performed to understand the structure of these 1p1hmore » states in the even-A phosphorus isotopes. States in P 40 with N=25 were found to have very complex configurations involving all the fp orbitals leading to deformed states as seen in neutron-rich nuclei with N≈28. The calculated GT matrix elements for the β decay highlight the dominance of the decay of the core neutrons rather than the valence neutrons.« less

Excitation of high density surface plasmon polariton vortex array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuo, Chun-Fu; Chu, Shu-Chun

2018-06-01

This study proposes a method to excite surface plasmon polariton (SPP) vortex array of high spatial density on metal/air interface. A doughnut vector beam was incident at four rectangularly arranged slits to excite SPP vortex array. The doughnut vector beam used in this study has the same field intensity distribution as the regular doughnut laser mode, TEM01* mode, but a different polarization distribution. The SPP vortex array is achieved through the matching of both polarization state and phase state of the incident doughnut vector beam with the four slits. The SPP field distribution excited in this study contains stable array-distributed time-varying optical vortices. Theoretical derivation, analytical calculation and numerical simulation were used to discuss the characteristics of the induced SPP vortex array. The period of the SPP vortex array induced by the proposed method had only half SPPs wavelength. In addition, the vortex number in an excited SPP vortex array can be increased by enlarging the structure.

Investigation of the RbCa molecule: Experiment and theory.

PubMed

Pototschnig, Johann V; Krois, Günter; Lackner, Florian; Ernst, Wolfgang E

2015-04-01

We present a thorough theoretical and experimental study of the electronic structure of RbCa. The mixed alkali-alkaline earth molecule RbCa was formed on superfluid helium nanodroplets. Excited states of the molecule in the range of 13 000-23 000 cm -1 were recorded by resonance enhanced multi-photon ionization time-of-flight spectroscopy. The experiment is accompanied by high level ab initio calculations of ground and excited state properties, utilizing a multireference configuration interaction method based on multiconfigurational self consistent field calculations. With this approach the potential energy curves and permanent electric dipole moments of 24 electronic states were calculated. In addition we computed the transition dipole moments for transitions from the ground into excited states. The combination of experiment and theory allowed the assignment of features in the recorded spectrum to the excited [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] states, where the experiment allowed to benchmark the calculation. This is the first experimental work giving insight into the previously unknown RbCa molecule, which offers great prospects in ultracold molecular physics due to its magnetic and electronic dipole moment in the [Formula: see text] ground state.

Polymethine and squarylium molecules with large excited-state absorption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, Jin Hong; Przhonska, Olga V.; Khodja, Salah; Yang, Sidney; Ross, T. S.; Hagan, David J.; Van Stryland, Eric W.; Bondar, Mikhail V.; Slominsky, Yuriy L.

1999-07-01

We study nonlinear absorption in a series of ten polymethine dyes and two squarylium dyes using Z-scan, pump-probe and optical limiting experiments. Both picosecond and nanosecond characterization were performed at 532 nm, while picosecond measurements were performed using an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) from 440 to 650 nm. The photophysical parameters of these dyes including cross sections and excited-state lifetimes are presented both in solution in ethanol and in an elastopolymeric material, polyurethane acrylate (PUA). We determine that the dominant nonlinearity in all these dyes is large excited-state absorption (ESA), i.e. reverse saturable absorption. For several of the dyes we measure a relatively large ground-state absorption cross section, σ01, which effectively populates an excited state that possesses an extremely large ESA cross section, σ12. The ratios of σ12/ σ01 are the largest we know of, up to 200 at 532 nm, and lead to very low thresholds for optical limiting. However, the lifetimes of the excited state are of the order of 1 ns in ethanol, which is increased to up to 3 ns in PUA. This lifetime is less than optimum for sensor protection applications for Q-switched inputs, and intersystem crossing times for these molecules are extremely long, so that triplet states are not populated. These parameters show a significant improvement over those of the first set of this class of dyes studied and indicate that further improvement of the photophysical parameters may be possible. From these measurements, correlations between molecular structure and nonlinear properties are made. We propose a five-level, all-singlet state model, which includes reorientation processes in the first excited state. This includes a trans- cis conformational change that leads to the formation of a new state with a new molecular configuration which is also absorbing but can undergo a light-induced degradation at high inputs.

Nuclear Structure Studies in the 132Sn Region: Safe Coulex with Carbon Targets

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Allmond, James M; Stuchbery, Andrew E; Galindo-Uribarri, Alfredo

2015-01-01

The collective and single-particle structure of nuclei in the 132Sn region was recently studied by Coulomb excitation and heavy-ion induced transfer reactions using carbon, beryllium, and titanium targets. In particular, Coulomb excitation was used determine a complete set of electromagnetic moments for the first 2 + states and one-neutron transfer was used to probe the purity and evolution of single-neutron states. These recent experiments were conducted at the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility at ORNL using a CsI-HPGe detector array (BareBall- CLARION) to detect scattered particles and emitted gamma rays from the in-beam reactions. A Bragg-curve detector was used tomore » measure the energy loss of the various beams through the targets and to measure the radioactive beam compositions. A sample of the Coulomb excitation results is presented here with an emphasis placed on 116Sn. In particular, the safe Coulex criterion for carbon targets will be analyzed and discussed.« less

Origin of Broad Visible Emission from Branched Polysilane and Polygermane Chains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watanabe, Akira; Sato, Takaaki; Matsuda, Minoru

2001-11-01

The emission properties of branched polysilane and polygermane are studied using time-resolved emission spectroscopy. As branched polymers, the organosilicon cluster (OSI) and organogermanium cluster (OGE) are investigated, which are prepared from tetrachlorosilane and tetrachlorogermane, respectively, and have a hyperbranched structure. The broad visible emissions of OSI and OGE are explained by the energy diagram based on a configuration coordinate model, and the excited states are attributed to a localized state around the branching point. The molecular orbital (MO) calculation suggested the formation of a localized state by the distortion around the branching point in the excited state. The potential barrier for the nonradiative relaxation process was determined from the temperature dependence of the emission lifetime.

Coulomb Correlations Intertwined with Spin and Orbital Excitations in LaCoO_{3}.

PubMed

Tomiyasu, K; Okamoto, J; Huang, H Y; Chen, Z Y; Sinaga, E P; Wu, W B; Chu, Y Y; Singh, A; Wang, R-P; de Groot, F M F; Chainani, A; Ishihara, S; Chen, C T; Huang, D J

2017-11-10

We carried out temperature-dependent (20-550 K) measurements of resonant inelastic x-ray scattering on LaCoO_{3} to investigate the evolution of its electronic structure across the spin-state crossover. In combination with charge-transfer multiplet calculations, we accurately quantified the renomalized crystal-field excitation energies and spin-state populations. We show that the screening of the effective on-site Coulomb interaction of 3d electrons is orbital selective and coupled to the spin-state crossover in LaCoO_{3}. The results establish that the gradual spin-state crossover is associated with a relative change of Coulomb energy versus bandwidth, leading to a Mott-type insulator-to-metal transition.

Laser Spectroscopy and Density Functional Study on Niobium Dimer Cation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aydin, Metin; Lombardi, John R.

2009-06-01

Resonant multiphoton fragmentation spectra of niobium dimer cation (Nb2+) have been obtained by utilizing laser vaporization of a Nb metal target. Ions are mass-selected with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer followed by a mass gate, then fragmented with a pulsed dye laser, and the resulting fragment ions are detected with a second time-of-flight reflectron mass spectrometer and multichannel plate. Photon resonances are detected by monitoring ion current as a function of fragmentation laser wavelength. A rich, but complex spectrum of the cation is obtained. The bands display a characteristic multiplet structure that may be interpreted as due to transitions from the ground state X^{4}{Σ}^{-}({Ω}g) to several excited states, X^{4}{Π}({Ω}u) and X^{4}{Σ}(^{-}{Ω}u). The ground state X^{4}{Σ}^{-}({Ω}g) is derived from the electron configuration ({π}{_u})^{4} (1{σ}{_g})^{2}(2{σ}{_g})^{1} ({δ}{_g})^{2}. The two spin-orbit components are split by 145 cm^{-1} due to a strong second-order isoconfigurational spin-orbit interaction with the low-lying ^{2}{Σ}^{+}({Ω}g) state. The vibrational frequencies of the ground sate and the excited state of Nb2+ are identified as well as molecular spin-orbit constants (A{_S}{_O}) in the excited state. The electronic structure of niobium dimer cation was investigated using density functional theory. For the electronic ground state, the predicted spectroscopic properties were in good agreement with experiment. Calculations on excited states reveal congested manifolds of quartet and doublet electronic states in the range 0-30,000 cm^{-1}, reflecting the multitude of possible electronic promotions among the 4d- and 5s-based molecular orbitals. Comparisons are drawn between Nb^{+}{_2} and the prevalent isoelectronic molecules V^{+}{_2}/NbV^{+}/Nb{_2}/V{_2}/NbV. M. Aydin and John R. Lombardi J. Phys. Chem. A. xx XXXX 2009.

Transient Melting and Recrystallization of Semiconductor Nanocrystals Under Multiple Electron-Hole Pair Excitation.

PubMed

Kirschner, Matthew S; Hannah, Daniel C; Diroll, Benjamin T; Zhang, Xiaoyi; Wagner, Michael J; Hayes, Dugan; Chang, Angela Y; Rowland, Clare E; Lethiec, Clotilde M; Schatz, George C; Chen, Lin X; Schaller, Richard D

2017-09-13

Ultrafast optical pump, X-ray diffraction probe experiments were performed on CdSe nanocrystal (NC) colloidal dispersions as functions of particle size, polytype, and pump fluence. Bragg peak shifts related to heating and peak amplitude reduction associated with lattice disordering are observed. For smaller NCs, melting initiates upon absorption of as few as ∼15 electron-hole pair excitations per NC on average (0.89 excitations/nm 3 for a 1.5 nm radius) with roughly the same excitation density inducing melting for all examined NCs. Diffraction intensity recovery kinetics, attributable to recrystallization, occur over hundreds of picoseconds with slower recoveries for larger particles. Zincblende and wurtzite NCs revert to initial structures following intense photoexcitation suggesting melting occurs primarily at the surface, as supported by simulations. Electronic structure calculations relate significant band gap narrowing with decreased crystallinity. These findings reflect the need to consider the physical stability of nanomaterials and related electronic impacts in high intensity excitation applications such as lasing and solid-state lighting.

Excited states from quantum Monte Carlo in the basis of Slater determinants

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Humeniuk, Alexander; Mitrić, Roland, E-mail: roland.mitric@uni-wuerzburg.de

2014-11-21

Building on the full configuration interaction quantum Monte Carlo (FCIQMC) algorithm introduced recently by Booth et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 131, 054106 (2009)] to compute the ground state of correlated many-electron systems, an extension to the computation of excited states (exFCIQMC) is presented. The Hilbert space is divided into a large part consisting of pure Slater determinants and a much smaller orthogonal part (the size of which is controlled by a cut-off threshold), from which the lowest eigenstates can be removed efficiently. In this way, the quantum Monte Carlo algorithm is restricted to the orthogonal complement of the lower excitedmore » states and projects out the next highest excited state. Starting from the ground state, higher excited states can be found one after the other. The Schrödinger equation in imaginary time is solved by the same population dynamics as in the ground state algorithm with modified probabilities and matrix elements, for which working formulae are provided. As a proof of principle, the method is applied to lithium hydride in the 3-21G basis set and to the helium dimer in the aug-cc-pVDZ basis set. It is shown to give the correct electronic structure for all bond lengths. Much more testing will be required before the applicability of this method to electron correlation problems of interesting size can be assessed.« less

Excited-State Proton-Transfer-Induced Trapping Enhances the Fluorescence Emission of a Locked GFP Chromophore

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

The chemical locking of the central single bond in core chromophores of green fluorescent proteins (GFPs) influences their excited-state behavior in a distinct manner. Experimentally, it significantly enhances the fluorescence quantum yield of GFP chromophores with an ortho-hydroxyl group, while it has almost no effect on the photophysics of GFP chromophores with a para-hydroxyl group. To unravel the underlying physical reasons for this different behavior, we report static electronic structure calculations and nonadiabatic dynamics simulations on excited-state intramolecular proton transfer, cis–trans isomerization, and excited-state deactivation in a locked ortho-substituted GFP model chromophore (o-LHBI). On the basis of our previous and present results, we find that the S1 keto species is responsible for the fluorescence emission of the unlocked o-HBI and the locked o-LHBI species. Chemical locking does not change the parts of the S1 and S0 potential energy surfaces relevant to enol–keto tautomerization; hence, in both chromophores, there is an ultrafast excited-state intramolecular proton transfer that takes only 35 fs on average. However, the locking effectively hinders the S1 keto species from approaching the keto S1/S0 conical intersections so that most of trajectories are trapped in the S1 keto region for the entire 2 ps simulation time. Therefore, the fluorescence quantum yield of o-LHBI is enhanced compared with that of unlocked o-HBI, in which the S1 excited-state decay is efficient and ultrafast. In the case of the para-substituted GFP model chromophores p-HBI and p-LHBI, chemical locking hardly affects their efficient excited-state deactivation via cis–trans isomerization; thus, the fluorescence quantum yields in these chromophores remain very low. The insights gained from the present work may help to guide the design of new GFP chromophores with improved fluorescence emission and brightness. PMID:26744782

Femtosecond dynamics of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (piroxicam) in solution: The involvement of twisting motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gil, Michał; Douhal, Abderrazzak

2008-06-01

In this contribution, we report on fast and ultrafast dynamics of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, piroxicam (PX), in methyl acetate (MAC) and triacetin (TAC), two solvents of different viscosities. The enol form of PX undergoes a femtosecond (shorter than 100 fs) electronically excited state intramolecular proton-transfer reaction to produce keto tautomers. These structures exhibit an internal twisting motion to generate keto rotamers in ˜2-5 ps, a time being longer in TAC. The transient absorption/emission spectrum is very broad indicating that the potential-energy surface at the electronically excited state is very flat, and reflecting the involvement of several coordinates along which the wavepacket of the fs-produced structures evolve.

Phenol and terpene quenching of singlet- and triplet-excited states of riboflavin in relation to light-struck flavor formation in beer.

PubMed

Cardoso, Daniel R; Olsen, Karsten; Møller, Jens K S; Skibsted, Leif H

2006-07-26

Phenolic compounds present in beer were shown by fluorescence spectroscopy and laser flash photolysis to deactivate both singlet- and triplet-excited states of riboflavin with bimolecular rate constants close to the diffusion control ranging from 2.8x10(9) to 1.1x10(10) M-1 s-1 and from 1.1x10(9) to 2.6x10(9) M-1 s-1, respectively. Enthalpies of activation were low (up to 33.2 kJ mol-1), and entropies of activation were positive, ranging from 17 to 92 J mol-1 K-1, as derived from temperature dependence, indicating a compensation effect. From a Stern-Volmer analysis of the singlet-excited riboflavin quenching by phenols it was found that high amounts of phenolic compounds (>0.3 M) would be needed to hinder triplet-excited riboflavin generation. On the other hand, a phenolic content of 0.36 mM is likely to quench 90% of the triplet-excited state. Phenol photodegradation was found to be complex, and using ESI-MS analysis it was not possible to identify specific photooxidation products of the phenolic compounds; only the photoproducts of riboflavin could be detected and structurally assigned. The rate of reaction of triplet-excited riboflavin with phenolic compounds in acetonitrile/citrate buffer (pH 4.6, 10 mM) is 550 times faster than the reaction with iso-alpha-acids from hops, indicating that triplet-excited quenchers such as phenols may be involved in the early steps in light-struck flavor formation in beer through radical formation. Terpenes present in herb-flavored beers were found to be nonreactive toward singlet- and triplet-excited-state riboflavin, and any protection depends on other mechanisms.

The transition from the open minimum to the ring minimum on the ground state and on the lowest excited state of like symmetry in ozone: A configuration interaction study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Theis, Daniel; Windus, Theresa L.; Ruedenberg, Klaus

The metastable ring structure of the ozone 1{sup 1}A{sub 1} ground state, which theoretical calculations have shown to exist, has so far eluded experimental detection. An accurate prediction for the energy difference between this isomer and the lower open structure is therefore of interest, as is a prediction for the isomerization barrier between them, which results from interactions between the lowest two {sup 1}A{sub 1} states. In the present work, valence correlated energies of the 1{sup 1}A{sub 1} state and the 2{sup 1}A{sub 1} state were calculated at the 1{sup 1}A{sub 1} open minimum, the 1{sup 1}A{sub 1} ring minimum,more » the transition state between these two minima, the minimum of the 2{sup 1}A{sub 1} state, and the conical intersection between the two states. The geometries were determined at the full-valence multi-configuration self-consistent-field level. Configuration interaction (CI) expansions up to quadruple excitations were calculated with triple-zeta atomic basis sets. The CI expansions based on eight different reference configuration spaces were explored. To obtain some of the quadruple excitation energies, the method of Correlation Energy Extrapolation by Intrinsic Scaling was generalized to the simultaneous extrapolation for two states. This extrapolation method was shown to be very accurate. On the other hand, none of the CI expansions were found to have converged to millihartree (mh) accuracy at the quadruple excitation level. The data suggest that convergence to mh accuracy is probably attained at the sextuple excitation level. On the 1{sup 1}A{sub 1} state, the present calculations yield the estimates of (ring minimum—open minimum) ∼45–50 mh and (transition state—open minimum) ∼85–90 mh. For the (2{sup 1}A{sub 1}–{sup 1}A{sub 1}) excitation energy, the estimate of ∼130–170 mh is found at the open minimum and 270–310 mh at the ring minimum. At the transition state, the difference (2{sup 1}A{sub 1}–{sup 1}A{sub 1}) is found to be between 1 and 10 mh. The geometry of the transition state on the 1{sup 1}A{sub 1} surface and that of the minimum on the 2{sup 1}A{sub 1} surface nearly coincide. More accurate predictions of the energy differences also require CI expansions to at least sextuple excitations with respect to the valence space. For every wave function considered, the omission of the correlations of the 2s oxygen orbitals, which is a widely used approximation, was found to cause errors of about ±10 mh with respect to the energy differences.« less

Excited state properties of naphtho-homologated xxDNA bases and effect of methanol solution, deoxyribose, and base pairing.

PubMed

Zhang, Laibin; Ren, Tingqi; Tian, Jianxiang; Yang, Xiuqin; Zhou, Liuzhu; Li, Xiaoming

2013-04-18

Design and synthesis of fluorescent nucleobase analogues for studying structures and dynamics of nucleic acids have attracted much attention in recent years. In the present work, a comprehensive theoretical study of electronic transitions of naphtho-homologated base analogues, namely, xxC, xxT, xxA, and xxG, was performed. The nature of the low-lying excited states was discussed, and the results were compared with those of x-bases. Geometrical characteristics of the lowest excited singlet ππ* states were explored using the CIS method. The calculated excitation maxima are 423, 397, 383, and 357 nm for xxA, xxG, xxC, and xxT, respectively, and they are greatly red-shifted compared with x-bases and natural bases, allowing them to be selectively excited in the presence of the natural bases. In the gas phase, the fluorescence from them would be expected to occur around 497, 461, 457, and 417 nm, respectively. The effects of methanol solution, deoxyribose, and base paring with their complementary natural bases on the relevant absorption and emission spectra of these modified bases were also examined.

Efficient time-dependent density functional theory approximations for hybrid density functionals: analytical gradients and parallelization.

PubMed

Petrenko, Taras; Kossmann, Simone; Neese, Frank

2011-02-07

In this paper, we present the implementation of efficient approximations to time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) within the Tamm-Dancoff approximation (TDA) for hybrid density functionals. For the calculation of the TDDFT/TDA excitation energies and analytical gradients, we combine the resolution of identity (RI-J) algorithm for the computation of the Coulomb terms and the recently introduced "chain of spheres exchange" (COSX) algorithm for the calculation of the exchange terms. It is shown that for extended basis sets, the RIJCOSX approximation leads to speedups of up to 2 orders of magnitude compared to traditional methods, as demonstrated for hydrocarbon chains. The accuracy of the adiabatic transition energies, excited state structures, and vibrational frequencies is assessed on a set of 27 excited states for 25 molecules with the configuration interaction singles and hybrid TDDFT/TDA methods using various basis sets. Compared to the canonical values, the typical error in transition energies is of the order of 0.01 eV. Similar to the ground-state results, excited state equilibrium geometries differ by less than 0.3 pm in the bond distances and 0.5° in the bond angles from the canonical values. The typical error in the calculated excited state normal coordinate displacements is of the order of 0.01, and relative error in the calculated excited state vibrational frequencies is less than 1%. The errors introduced by the RIJCOSX approximation are, thus, insignificant compared to the errors related to the approximate nature of the TDDFT methods and basis set truncation. For TDDFT/TDA energy and gradient calculations on Ag-TB2-helicate (156 atoms, 2732 basis functions), it is demonstrated that the COSX algorithm parallelizes almost perfectly (speedup ~26-29 for 30 processors). The exchange-correlation terms also parallelize well (speedup ~27-29 for 30 processors). The solution of the Z-vector equations shows a speedup of ~24 on 30 processors. The parallelization efficiency for the Coulomb terms can be somewhat smaller (speedup ~15-25 for 30 processors), but their contribution to the total calculation time is small. Thus, the parallel program completes a Becke3-Lee-Yang-Parr energy and gradient calculation on the Ag-TB2-helicate in less than 4 h on 30 processors. We also present the necessary extension of the Lagrangian formalism, which enables the calculation of the TDDFT excited state properties in the frozen-core approximation. The algorithms described in this work are implemented into the ORCA electronic structure system.

Acceleration of a ground-state reaction by selective femtosecond-infrared-laser-pulse excitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stensitzki, Till; Yang, Yang; Kozich, Valeri; Ahmed, Ashour A.; Kössl, Florian; Kühn, Oliver; Heyne, Karsten

2018-02-01

Infrared (IR) excitation of vibrations that participate in the reaction coordinate of an otherwise thermally driven chemical reaction are believed to lead to its acceleration. Attempts at the practical realization of this concept have been hampered so far by competing processes leading to sample heating. Here we demonstrate, using femtosecond IR-pump IR-probe experiments, the acceleration of urethane and polyurethane formation due to vibrational excitation of the reactants for 1:1 mixtures of phenylisocyanate and cyclohexanol, and toluene-2,4-diisocyanate and 2,2,2-trichloroethane-1,1-diol, respectively. We measured reaction rate changes upon selective vibrational excitation with negligible heating of the sample and observed an increase of the reaction rate up to 24%. The observation is rationalized using reactant and transition-state structures obtained from quantum chemical calculations. We subsequently used IR-driven reaction acceleration to write a polyurethane square on sample windows using a femtosecond IR pulse.

Many-body perturbation theory for understanding optical excitations in organic molecules and solids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharifzadeh, Sahar

2018-04-01

Semiconductors composed of organic molecules are promising as components for flexible and inexpensive optoelectronic devices, with many recent studies aimed at understanding their electronic and optical properties. In particular, computational modeling of these complex materials has provided new understanding of the underlying properties which give rise to their excited-state phenomena. This article provides an overview of recent many-body perturbation theory (MBPT) studies of optical excitations within organic molecules and solids. We discuss the accuracy of MBPT within the GW/BSE approach in predicting excitation energies and absorption spectra, and assess the impact of two commonly used approximations, the DFT starting point and the Tamm–Dancoff approximation. Moreover, we summarize studies that elucidate the role of solid-state structure on the nature of excitons in organic crystals. These studies show that a rich physical understanding of organic materials can be obtained from GW/BSE.

Controlling competing orders via nonequilibrium acoustic phonons: Emergence of anisotropic effective electronic temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schütt, Michael; Orth, Peter P.; Levchenko, Alex; Fernandes, Rafael M.

2018-01-01

Ultrafast perturbations offer a unique tool to manipulate correlated systems due to their ability to promote transient behaviors with no equilibrium counterpart. A widely employed strategy is the excitation of coherent optical phonons, as they can cause significant changes in the electronic structure and interactions on short time scales. One of the issues, however, is the inevitable heating that accompanies these resonant excitations. Here, we explore a promising alternative route: the nonequilibrium excitation of acoustic phonons, which, due to their low excitation energies, generally lead to less heating. We demonstrate that driving acoustic phonons leads to the remarkable phenomenon of a momentum-dependent effective temperature, by which electronic states at different regions of the Fermi surface are subject to distinct local temperatures. Such an anisotropic effective electronic temperature can have a profound effect on the delicate balance between competing ordered states in unconventional superconductors, opening a so far unexplored avenue to control correlated phases.

Magnetic vortex core reversal by excitation of spin waves.

PubMed

Kammerer, Matthias; Weigand, Markus; Curcic, Michael; Noske, Matthias; Sproll, Markus; Vansteenkiste, Arne; Van Waeyenberge, Bartel; Stoll, Hermann; Woltersdorf, Georg; Back, Christian H; Schuetz, Gisela

2011-01-01

Micron-sized magnetic platelets in the flux-closed vortex state are characterized by an in-plane curling magnetization and a nanometer-sized perpendicularly magnetized vortex core. Having the simplest non-trivial configuration, these objects are of general interest to micromagnetics and may offer new routes for spintronics applications. Essential progress in the understanding of nonlinear vortex dynamics was achieved when low-field core toggling by excitation of the gyrotropic eigenmode at sub-GHz frequencies was established. At frequencies more than an order of magnitude higher vortex state structures possess spin wave eigenmodes arising from the magneto-static interaction. Here we demonstrate experimentally that the unidirectional vortex core reversal process also occurs when such azimuthal modes are excited. These results are confirmed by micromagnetic simulations, which clearly show the selection rules for this novel reversal mechanism. Our analysis reveals that for spin-wave excitation the concept of a critical velocity as the switching condition has to be modified.

Two-dimensional Electronic Double-Quantum Coherence Spectroscopy

PubMed Central

Kim, Jeongho; Mukamel, Shaul

2009-01-01

CONSPECTUS The theory of electronic structure of many-electron systems like molecules is extraordinarily complicated. A lot can be learned by considering how electron density is distributed, on average, in the average field of the other electrons in the system. That is, mean field theory. However, to describe quantitatively chemical bonds, reactions, and spectroscopy requires consideration of the way that electrons avoid each other by the way they move; this is called electron correlation (or in physics, the many-body problem for fermions). While great progress has been made in theory, there is a need for incisive experimental tests that can be undertaken for large molecular systems in the condensed phase. Here we report a two-dimensional (2D) optical coherent spectroscopy that correlates the double excited electronic states to constituent single excited states. The technique, termed two-dimensional double-coherence spectroscopy (2D-DQCS), makes use of multiple, time-ordered ultrashort coherent optical pulses to create double- and single-quantum coherences over time intervals between the pulses. The resulting two-dimensional electronic spectrum maps the energy correlation between the first excited state and two-photon allowed double-quantum states. The principle of the experiment is that when the energy of the double-quantum state, viewed in simple models as a double HOMO to LUMO excitation, equals twice that of a single excitation, then no signal is radiated. However, electron-electron interactions—a combination of exchange interactions and electron correlation—in real systems generates a signal that reveals precisely how the energy of the double-quantum resonance differs from twice the single-quantum resonance. The energy shift measured in this experiment reveals how the second excitation is perturbed by both the presence of the first excitation and the way that the other electrons in the system have responded to the presence of that first excitation. We compare a series of organic dye molecules and find that the energy offset for adding a second electronic excitation to the system relative to the first excitation is on the order of tens of milli-electronvolts, and it depends quite sensitively on molecular geometry. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of 2D-DQCS for elucidating quantitative information about electron-electron interactions, many-electron wavefunctions, and electron correlation in electronic excited states and excitons. PMID:19552412

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Palmer, Michael H., E-mail: m.h.palmer@ed.ac.uk; Ridley, Trevor, E-mail: t.ridley@ed.ac.uk, E-mail: vronning@phys.au.dk, E-mail: nykj@phys.au.dk, E-mail: marcello.coreno@elettra.eu, E-mail: desimone@iom.cnr.it, E-mail: malgorzata.biczysko@sns.it, E-mail: kipeters@wsu.edu; Hoffmann, Søren Vrønning, E-mail: t.ridley@ed.ac.uk, E-mail: vronning@phys.au.dk, E-mail: nykj@phys.au.dk, E-mail: marcello.coreno@elettra.eu, E-mail: desimone@iom.cnr.it, E-mail: malgorzata.biczysko@sns.it, E-mail: kipeters@wsu.edu

New photoelectron, ultraviolet (UV), and vacuum UV (VUV) spectra have been obtained for bromobenzene by synchrotron study with higher sensitivity and resolution than previous work. This, together with use of ab initio calculations with both configuration interaction and time dependent density functional theoretical methods, has led to major advances in interpretation. The VUV spectrum has led to identification of a considerable number of Rydberg states for the first time. The Franck-Condon (FC) analyses including both hot and cold bands lead to identification of the vibrational structure of both ionic and electronically excited states including two Rydberg states. The UV onsetmore » has been interpreted in some detail, and an interpretation based on the superposition of FC and Herzberg-Teller contributions has been performed. In a similar way, the 6 eV absorption band which is poorly resolved is analysed in terms of the presence of two ππ* states of {sup 1}A{sub 1} (higher oscillator strength) and {sup 1}B{sub 2} (lower oscillator strength) symmetries, respectively. The detailed analysis of the vibrational structure of the 2{sup 2}B{sub 1} ionic state is particularly challenging, and the best interpretation is based on equation-of-motion-coupled cluster with singles and doubles computations. A number of equilibrium structures of the ionic and singlet excited states show that the molecular structure is less subject to variation than corresponding studies for iodobenzene. The equilibrium structures of the 3b{sub 1}3s and 6b{sub 2}3s (valence shell numbering) Rydberg states have been obtained and compared with the corresponding ionic limit structures.« less

Rotationally resolved electronic spectroscopy study of the conformational space of 3-methoxyphenol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilke, Martin; Schneider, Michael; Wilke, Josefin; Ruiz-Santoyo, José Arturo; Campos-Amador, Jorge J.; González-Medina, M. Elena; Álvarez-Valtierra, Leonardo; Schmitt, Michael

2017-07-01

Conformational preferences are determined by (de-)stabilization effects like intramolecular hydrogen bonds or steric hindrance of adjacent substituents and thus, influence the stability and reactivity of the conformers. In the present contribution, we investigate the conformational landscape of 3-methoxyphenol using a combination of high resolution electronic spectroscopy and ab initio calculations. Three of the four possible conformational isomers were characterized in their electronic ground and lowest excited singlet states on the basis of their rotational constants and other molecular parameters. The absence of one conformer in molecular beam studies can be explained by its non-planar structure in the excited state, which leads to a vanishingly small Franck-Condon factor of the respective origin excitation.

Matter distribution and spin-orbit force in spherical nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Co', G.; Anguiano, M.; De Donno, V.; Lallena, A. M.

2018-03-01

We investigate the possibility that some nuclei show density distributions with a depletion in the center, a semibubble structure, by using a Hartree-Fock plus Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer approach. We separately study the proton, neutron, and matter distributions in 37 spherical nuclei mainly in the s -d shell region. We found a relation between the semibubble structure and the energy splitting of spin-orbit partner single particle levels. The presence of semibubble structure reduces this splitting, and we study its consequences on the excitation spectrum of the nuclei under investigation by using a quasiparticle random-phase-approximation approach. The excitation energies of the low-lying 4+ states can be related to the presence of semibubble structure in nuclei.

Unbound states in quantum heterostructures

PubMed Central

Bastard, G

2006-01-01

We report in this review on the electronic continuum states of semiconductor Quantum Wells and Quantum Dots and highlight the decisive part played by the virtual bound states in the optical properties of these structures. The two particles continuum states of Quantum Dots control the decoherence of the excited electron – hole states. The part played by Auger scattering in Quantum Dots is also discussed.

Photoionization bands of rubidium molecule

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rakić, M.; Pichler, G.

2018-03-01

We studied the absorption spectrum of dense rubidium vapor generated in a T-type sapphire cell with a special emphasis on the structured photoionization continuum observed in the 200-300 nm spectral region. The photoionization spectrum has a continuous atomic contribution with a pronounced Seaton-Cooper minimum at about 250 nm and a molecular photoionization contribution with many broad bands. We discuss the possible origin of the photoionization bands as stemming from the absorption from the ground state of the Rb2 molecule to excited states of Rb2+* and to doubly excited autoionizing states of Rb2** molecule. All these photoionization bands are located above the Rb+ and Rb2+ ionization limits.

Superdeformed and Triaxial States in 42Ca

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hadyńska-KlÈ©k, K.; Napiorkowski, P. J.; Zielińska, M.; Srebrny, J.; Maj, A.; Azaiez, F.; Valiente Dobón, J. J.; Kicińska-Habior, M.; Nowacki, F.; Naïdja, H.; Bounthong, B.; Rodríguez, T. R.; de Angelis, G.; Abraham, T.; Anil Kumar, G.; Bazzacco, D.; Bellato, M.; Bortolato, D.; Bednarczyk, P.; Benzoni, G.; Berti, L.; Birkenbach, B.; Bruyneel, B.; Brambilla, S.; Camera, F.; Chavas, J.; Cederwall, B.; Charles, L.; Ciemała, M.; Cocconi, P.; Coleman-Smith, P.; Colombo, A.; Corsi, A.; Crespi, F. C. L.; Cullen, D. M.; Czermak, A.; Désesquelles, P.; Doherty, D. T.; Dulny, B.; Eberth, J.; Farnea, E.; Fornal, B.; Franchoo, S.; Gadea, A.; Giaz, A.; Gottardo, A.; Grave, X.; GrÈ©bosz, J.; Görgen, A.; Gulmini, M.; Habermann, T.; Hess, H.; Isocrate, R.; Iwanicki, J.; Jaworski, G.; Judson, D. S.; Jungclaus, A.; Karkour, N.; Kmiecik, M.; Karpiński, D.; Kisieliński, M.; Kondratyev, N.; Korichi, A.; Komorowska, M.; Kowalczyk, M.; Korten, W.; Krzysiek, M.; Lehaut, G.; Leoni, S.; Ljungvall, J.; Lopez-Martens, A.; Lunardi, S.; Maron, G.; Mazurek, K.; Menegazzo, R.; Mengoni, D.; Merchán, E.; MÈ©czyński, W.; Michelagnoli, C.; Mierzejewski, J.; Million, B.; Myalski, S.; Napoli, D. R.; Nicolini, R.; Niikura, M.; Obertelli, A.; Özmen, S. F.; Palacz, M.; Próchniak, L.; Pullia, A.; Quintana, B.; Rampazzo, G.; Recchia, F.; Redon, N.; Reiter, P.; Rosso, D.; Rusek, K.; Sahin, E.; Salsac, M.-D.; Söderström, P.-A.; Stefan, I.; Stézowski, O.; Styczeń, J.; Theisen, Ch.; Toniolo, N.; Ur, C. A.; Vandone, V.; Wadsworth, R.; Wasilewska, B.; Wiens, A.; Wood, J. L.; Wrzosek-Lipska, K.; ZiÈ©bliński, M.

2016-08-01

Shape parameters of a weakly deformed ground-state band and highly deformed slightly triaxial sideband in 42Ca were determined from E 2 matrix elements measured in the first low-energy Coulomb excitation experiment performed with AGATA. The picture of two coexisting structures is well reproduced by new state-of-the-art large-scale shell model and beyond-mean-field calculations. Experimental evidence for superdeformation of the band built on 02+ has been obtained and the role of triaxiality in the A ˜40 mass region is discussed. Furthermore, the potential of Coulomb excitation as a tool to study superdeformation has been demonstrated for the first time.

Ultrafast Excited-state Deactivation of Flavins Bound to Dodecin*

PubMed Central

Staudt, Heike; Oesterhelt, Dieter; Grininger, Martin; Wachtveitl, Josef

2012-01-01

Dodecins, a group of flavin-binding proteins with a dodecameric quaternary structure, are able to incorporate two flavins within each of their six identical binding pockets building an aromatic tetrade with two tryptophan residues. Dodecin from the archaeal Halobacterium salinarum is a riboflavin storage device. We demonstrate that unwanted side reactions induced by reactive riboflavin species and degradation of riboflavin are avoided by ultrafast depopulation of the reactive excited state of riboflavin. Intriguingly, in this process, the staggered riboflavin dimers do not interact in ground and photoexcited states. Rather, within the tetrade assembly, each riboflavin is kept under the control of the respective adjacent tryptophan, which suggests that the stacked arrangement is a matter of optimizing the flavin load. We further identify an electron transfer in combination with a proton transfer as a central element of the effective excited state depopulation mechanism. Structural and functional comparisons of the archaeal dodecin with bacterial homologs reveal diverging evolution. Bacterial dodecins bind the flavin FMN instead of riboflavin and exhibit a clearly different binding pocket design with inverse incorporations of flavin dimers. The different adoption of flavin changes photochemical properties, making bacterial dodecin a comparably less efficient quencher of flavins. This supports a functional role different for bacterial and archaeal dodecins. PMID:22451648

Probing the electronic structure of platinum(II) chromophores: crystal structures, NMR structures, and photophysical properties of six new bis- and di- phenolate/thiolate Pt(II)diimine chromophores.

PubMed

Weinstein, Julia A; Tierney, Mark T; Davies, E Stephen; Base, Karel; Robeiro, Anthony A; Grinstaff, Mark W

2006-05-29

A general route for synthesis of six structurally similar Pt(II) diimine thiolate/phenolates chromophores possessing bulky phenolate or thiolate ligands is reported. The Pt chromophores were characterized using an array of techniques including 1H, 13C, and 195Pt NMR, absorption, emission, (spectro)electrochemistry, and EPR spectroscopy. Systematic variation of the electronic structure of the Pt(II) chromophores studied was achieved by (i) changing solvent polarity; (ii) substituting oxygen for sulfur in the donor ligand; (iii) alternating donor ligands from bis- to di-coordination; and (iv) changing the electron donating/withdrawing properties of the ligand(s). The lowest excited state in these new chromophores was assigned to a [charge-transfer-to-diimine] transition from the HOMO of mixed Pt/S (or Pt/O) character on the basis of absorption and emission spectroscopy, UV/vis (spectro)electrochemistry, and EPR spectroscopy. One of the chromophores, Pt(dpphen)(3,5-di-tert-butyl-catecholate) represents an example of a Pt(II) diimine phenolate chromophore that possesses a reversible oxidation centered predominantly on the donor ligand. Results from EPR spectroscopy indicate participation of the Pt(II) orbitals in the HOMO. There is a dramatic difference in the photophysical properties of carborane complexes compared to other mixed-ligand Pt(II) compounds, which includes room-temperature emission and photostability. The charge-transfer character of the lowest excited state in this series of chromophores is maintained throughout. Moreover, the absorption and emission energies and the redox properties of the excited state can be significantly tuned.

Photodissociation studies of the electronic and vibrational spectroscopy of Ni(+)(H2O).

PubMed

Daluz, Jennifer S; Kocak, Abdulkadir; Metz, Ricardo B

2012-02-09

The electronic spectrum of Ni⁺(H₂O) has been measured from 16200 to 18000 cm⁻¹ using photofragment spectroscopy. Transitions to two excited electronic states are observed; they are sufficiently long-lived that the spectrum is vibrationally and partially rotationally resolved. An extended progression in the metal-ligand stretch is observed, and the absolute vibrational quantum numbering is assigned by comparing isotopic shifts between ⁵⁸Ni⁺(H₂O) and ⁶⁰Ni⁺(H₂O). Time-dependent density functional calculations aid in assigning the spectrum. Two electronic transitions are observed, from the ²A₁ ground state (which correlates to the ²D, 3d⁹ ground state of Ni⁺) to the 3²A₁ and 2²A₂ excited states. These states are nearly degenerate and correlate to the ²F, 3d⁸4s excited state of Ni⁺. Both transitions are quite weak, but surprisingly, the transition to the ²A₂ state is stronger, although it is symmetry-forbidden. The 3d⁸4s states of Ni⁺ interact less strongly with water than does the ground state; therefore, the excited states observed are less tightly bound and have a longer metal-ligand bond than the ground state. Calculations at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ level predict that binding to Ni⁺ increases the H-O-H angle in water from 104.2 to 107.5° as the metal removes electron density from the oxygen lone pairs. The photodissociation spectrum shows well-resolved rotational structure due to rotation about the Ni-O axis. This permits determination of the spin rotation constants ε(αα)'' = -12 cm⁻¹ and ε(αα)' = -3 cm⁻¹ and the excited state rotational constant A' = 14.5 cm⁻¹. This implies a H-O-H angle of 104 ± 1° in the 2²A₂ excited state. The O-H stretching frequencies of the ground state of Ni⁺(H₂O) were measured by combining IR excitation with visible photodissociation in a double resonance experiment. The O-H symmetric stretch is ν₁'' = 3616.5 cm⁻¹; the antisymmetric stretch is ν₅'' = 3688 cm⁻¹. These values are 40 and 68 cm⁻¹ lower, respectively, than those in bare H₂O.

Collectivity in the light radon nuclei measured directly via Coulomb excitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaffney, L. P.; Robinson, A. P.; Jenkins, D. G.; Andreyev, A. N.; Bender, M.; Blazhev, A.; Bree, N.; Bruyneel, B.; Butler, P. A.; Cocolios, T. E.; Davinson, T.; Deacon, A. N.; De Witte, H.; DiJulio, D.; Diriken, J.; Ekström, A.; Fransen, Ch.; Freeman, S. J.; Geibel, K.; Grahn, T.; Hadinia, B.; Hass, M.; Heenen, P.-H.; Hess, H.; Huyse, M.; Jakobsson, U.; Kesteloot, N.; Konki, J.; Kröll, Th.; Kumar, V.; Ivanov, O.; Martin-Haugh, S.; Mücher, D.; Orlandi, R.; Pakarinen, J.; Petts, A.; Peura, P.; Rahkila, P.; Reiter, P.; Scheck, M.; Seidlitz, M.; Singh, K.; Smith, J. F.; Van de Walle, J.; Van Duppen, P.; Voulot, D.; Wadsworth, R.; Warr, N.; Wenander, F.; Wimmer, K.; Wrzosek-Lipska, K.; Zielińska, M.

2015-06-01

Background: Shape coexistence in heavy nuclei poses a strong challenge to state-of-the-art nuclear models, where several competing shape minima are found close to the ground state. A classic region for investigating this phenomenon is in the region around Z =82 and the neutron midshell at N =104 . Purpose: Evidence for shape coexistence has been inferred from α -decay measurements, laser spectroscopy, and in-beam measurements. While the latter allow the pattern of excited states and rotational band structures to be mapped out, a detailed understanding of shape coexistence can only come from measurements of electromagnetic matrix elements. Method: Secondary, radioactive ion beams of 202Rn and 204Rn were studied by means of low-energy Coulomb excitation at the REX-ISOLDE in CERN. Results: The electric-quadrupole (E 2 ) matrix element connecting the ground state and first excited 21+ state was extracted for both 202Rn and 204Rn, corresponding to B (E 2 ;21+→01+) =29-8+8 and 43-12+17 W.u., respectively. Additionally, E 2 matrix elements connecting the 21+ state with the 41+ and 22+ states were determined in 202Rn. No excited 0+ states were observed in the current data set, possibly owing to a limited population of second-order processes at the currently available beam energies. Conclusions: The results are discussed in terms of collectivity and the deformation of both nuclei studied is deduced to be weak, as expected from the low-lying level-energy schemes. Comparisons are also made to state-of-the-art beyond-mean-field model calculations and the magnitude of the transitional quadrupole moments are well reproduced.

X-ray scattering study of pyrochlore iridates: Crystal structure, electronic, and magnetic excitations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Clancy, J. P.; Gretarsson, H.; Lee, E. K. H.

2016-07-06

We have investigated the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of the pyrochlore iridates Eu 2Ir 2O 7 and Pr 2Ir 2O 7 using a combination of resonant elastic x-ray scattering, x-ray powder diffraction, and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS). The structural parameters of Eu 2Ir 2O 7 have been examined as a function of temperature and applied pressure, with a particular emphasis on regions of the phase diagram where electronic and magnetic phase transitions have been reported. We find no evidence of crystal symmetry change over the range of temperatures (~6 to 300 K) and pressures (~0.1 to 17 GPa)more » studied. We have also investigated the electronic and magnetic excitations in single-crystal samples of Eu 2Ir 2O 7 and Pr 2Ir 2O 7 using high-resolution Ir L- 3-edge RIXS. In spite of very different ground state properties, we find that these materials exhibit qualitatively similar excitation spectra, with crystal field excitations at ~3-5 eV, spin-orbit excitations at ~ 0.5-1 eV, and broad low-lying excitations below ~0.15 eV. In single-crystal samples of "Eu-rich" Eu 2Ir 2O 7 (found to possess an actual stoichiometry of Eu 2.18Ir 1.82O 7.06) we observe highly damped magnetic excitations at ~45 meV, which display significant momentum dependence. Here, we compare these results with recent dynamical structure factor calculations« less

Electronic and optical properties of novel carbazole-based donor-acceptor compounds for applications in blue-emitting organic light-emitting diodes

DOE PAGES

Legaspi, Christian M.; Stubbs, Regan E.; Yaron, David J.; ...

2015-08-20

We report that organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have received a significant attention over the past decade due to their energy-saving potential. We have recently synthesized two novel carbazole-based donor-acceptor compounds and analyzed their optical properties to determine their suitability for use as blue emitters in OLEDs. These compounds show remarkable photo-stability and high quantum yields in the blue region of the spectrum. In addition, they have highly solvatochromic emission. In non-polar solvents, bright, blue-shifted (λmax ≈ 398 nm), and highly structured emission is seen. With increasing solvent dielectric constant, the emission becomes weaker, red-shifted (λmax ≈ 507 nm), and broad.more » We aim to determine the underlying cause of these changes. Electronic structure calculations indicate the presence of multiple excited states with comparable oscillator strength. These states are of interest because there are several with charge-transfer (CT) character, and others centered on the donor moiety. We theorize that CT states play a role in the observed changes in emission lineshape and may promote charge mobility for electrofluorescence in OLEDs. In the future, we plan to use Stark spectroscopy to analyze the polarity of excited states and transient absorption spectroscopy to observe the dynamics in the excited state.« less

Real-time observation of cascaded electronic relaxation processes in p-Fluorotoluene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hao, Qiaoli; Deng, Xulan; Long, Jinyou; Wang, Yanmei; Abulimiti, Bumaliya; Zhang, Bing

2017-08-01

Ultrafast electronic relaxation processes following two photoexcitation of 400 nm in p-Fluorotoluene (pFT) have been investigated utilizing time-resolved photoelectron imaging coupled with time-resolved mass spectroscopy. Cascaded electronic relaxation processes started from the electronically excited S2 state are directly imaged in real time and well characterized by two distinct time constants of 85 ± 10 fs and 2.4 ± 0.3 ps. The rapid component corresponds to the lifetime of the initially excited S2 state, including the structure relaxation from the Franck-Condon region to the conical intersection of S2/S1 and the subsequent internal conversion to the highly excited S1 state. While, the slower relaxation constant is attributed to the further internal conversion to the high levels of S0 from the secondarily populated S1 locating in the channel three region. Moreover, dynamical differences with benzene and toluene of analogous structures, including, specifically, the slightly slower relaxation rate of S2 and the evidently faster decay of S1, are also presented and tentatively interpreted as the substituent effects. In addition, photoelectron kinetic energy and angular distributions reveal the feature of accidental resonances with low-lying Rydberg states (the 3p, 4s and 4p states) during the multi-photon ionization process, providing totally unexpected but very interesting information for pFT.

Electronic and optical properties of novel carbazole-based donor-acceptor compounds for applications in blue-emitting organic light-emitting diodes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Legaspi, Christian M.; Stubbs, Regan E.; Yaron, David J.

We report that organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have received a significant attention over the past decade due to their energy-saving potential. We have recently synthesized two novel carbazole-based donor-acceptor compounds and analyzed their optical properties to determine their suitability for use as blue emitters in OLEDs. These compounds show remarkable photo-stability and high quantum yields in the blue region of the spectrum. In addition, they have highly solvatochromic emission. In non-polar solvents, bright, blue-shifted (λmax ≈ 398 nm), and highly structured emission is seen. With increasing solvent dielectric constant, the emission becomes weaker, red-shifted (λmax ≈ 507 nm), and broad.more » We aim to determine the underlying cause of these changes. Electronic structure calculations indicate the presence of multiple excited states with comparable oscillator strength. These states are of interest because there are several with charge-transfer (CT) character, and others centered on the donor moiety. We theorize that CT states play a role in the observed changes in emission lineshape and may promote charge mobility for electrofluorescence in OLEDs. In the future, we plan to use Stark spectroscopy to analyze the polarity of excited states and transient absorption spectroscopy to observe the dynamics in the excited state.« less

Direct deconvolution of two-state pump-probe X-ray absorption spectra and the structural changes in a 100 ps transient of Ni(II)-tetramesitylporphyrin.

PubMed

Della-Longa, S; Chen, L X; Frank, P; Hayakawa, K; Hatada, K; Benfatto, M

2009-05-04

Full multiple scattering (FMS) Minuit XANES (MXAN) has been combined with laser pump-probe K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) to determine the structure of photoexcited Ni(II)tetramesitylporphyrin, Ni(II)TMP, in dilute toluene solution. It is shown that an excellent simulation of the XANES spectrum is obtained, excluding the lowest-energy bound-state transitions. In ground-state Ni(II)TMP, the first-shell and second-shell distances are, respectively, d(Ni-N) = (1.93 +/- 0.02) A and d(Ni-C) = (2.94 +/- 0.03) A, in agreement with a previous EXAFS result. The time-resolved XANES difference spectrum was obtained (1) from the spectra of Ni(II)TMP in its photoexcited T(1) state and its ground state, S(0). The XANES difference spectrum has been analyzed to obtain both the structure and the fraction of the T(1) state. If the T(1) fraction is kept fixed at the value (0.37 +/- 0.10) determined by optical transient spectroscopy, a 0.07 A elongation of the Ni-N and Ni-C distances [d(Ni-N) and d(Ni-C)] is found, in agreement with the EXAFS result. However, an evaluation of both the distance elongation and the T(1) fraction can also be obtained using XANES data only. According to experimental evidence, and MXAN simulations, the T(1) fraction is (0.60 +/- 0.15) with d(Ni-N) = (1.98 +/- 0.03) A (0.05 A elongation). The overall uncertainty of these results depends on the statistical correlation between the distances and T(1) fraction, and the chemical shift of the ionization energy because of subtle changes of metal charge between the T(1) and S(0) states. The T(1) excited-state structure results, independently obtained without the excited-state fraction from optical transient spectroscopy, are still in agreement with previous EXAFS investigations. Thus, full multiple scattering theory applied through the MXAN formalism can be used to provide structural information, not only on the ground-state molecules but also on very short-lived excited states through differential analysis applied to transient photoexcited species from time-resolved experiments.

Electronic structure and charge transfer excited states of endohedral fullerene containing electron donoracceptor complexes utilized in organic photovoltaics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amerikheirabadi, Fatemeh

Organic Donor-Acceptor complexes form the main component of the organic photovoltaic devices (OPVs). The open circuit voltage of OPVs is directly related to the charge transfer excited state energies of these complexes. Currently a large number of different molecular complexes are being tested for their efficiency in photovoltaic devices. In this work, density functional theory as implemented in the NRLMOL code is used to investigate the electronic structure and related properties of these donor-acceptor complexes. The charge transfer excitation energies are calculated using the perturbative delta self-consistent field method recently developed in our group as the standard time dependent density functional approaches fail to accurately provide them. The model photovoltaics systems analyzed are as follows: Sc3N C 80--ZnTPP, Y3 N C80-- ZnTPP and Sc3 N C80-- ZnPc. In addition, a thorough analysis of the isolated donor and acceptor molecules is also provided. The studied acceptors are chosen from a class of fullerenes named trimetallic nitride endohedral fullerenes. These molecules have shown to possess advantages as acceptors such as long lifetimes of the charge-separated states.

Thermodynamics of the living organisms. Allometric relationship between the total metabolic energy, chemical energy and body temperature in mammals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atanasov, Atanas Todorov

2017-11-01

The study present relationship between the total metabolic energy (ETME(c), J) derived as a function of body chemical energy (Gchem, J) and absolute temperature (Tb, K) in mammals: ETME(c) =Gchem (Tb/Tn). In formula the temperature Tn =2.73K appears normalization temperature. The calculated total metabolic energy ETME(c) differs negligible from the total metabolic energy ETME(J), received as a product between the basal metabolic rate (Pm, J/s) and the lifespan (Tls, s) of mammals: ETME = Pm×Tls. The physical nature and biological mean of the normalization temperature (Tn, K) is unclear. It is made the hypothesis that the kTn energy (where k= 1.3806×10-23 J/K -Boltzmann constant) presents energy of excitation states (modes) in biomolecules and body structures that could be in equilibrium with chemical energy accumulated in body. This means that the accumulated chemical energy allows trough all body molecules and structures to propagate excitations states with kTn energy with wavelength in the rage of width of biological membranes. The accumulated in biomolecules chemical energy maintains spread of the excited states through biomolecules without loss of energy.

Ab initio study of the Jπ=0± continuum structures in 4He

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aoyama, S.; Baye, D.

2018-05-01

The Jπ=0± continuum structures in 4He are investigated by using an ab initio reaction theory with the microscopic R -matrix method. In the Ex≥˜20 MeV excitation energy region of 4He, the continuum states are mainly described by the t +p , h +n , and d +d channels. The Jπ=0± elastic phase shifts of the t +p and h +n channels show an apparently resonant behavior which might indicate the existence of excited 03+ and 02- resonance states of 4He above the known 02+ and 01- ones. However, the corresponding 03+ and 02- resonances have not been observed yet, although an experimental candidate with a large decay width is reported for 02-. In this paper, by analyzing the Jπ=0± S matrices, we discuss why the observation of these states is unlikely.

Structure of 10 N in 9 C+p resonance scattering

DOE PAGES

Hooker, J.; Rogachev, G. V.; Goldberg, V. Z.; ...

2017-03-17

We studied the structure of exotic nucleus 10N using 9C+p resonance scattering. Two ℓ=0 resonances were found to be the lowest states in 10N. Furthermore, the ground state of 10N is unbound with respect to proton decay by 2.2(2) or 1.9(2) MeV depending on the 2 -or 1 -spin-parity assignment, and the first excited state is unbound by 2.8(2) MeV.

Red and blue shift of liquid water's excited states: A many body perturbation study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ziaei, Vafa; Bredow, Thomas

2016-08-01

In the present paper, accurate optical absorption spectrum of liquid H2O is calculated in the energy range of 5-20 eV to probe the nature of water's excited states by means of many body perturbation approach. Main features of recent inelastic X-ray measurements are well reproduced, such as a bound excitonic peak at 7.9 eV with a shoulder at 9.4 eV as well as the absorption maximum at 13.9 eV, followed by a broad shoulder at 18.4 eV. The spectrum is dominated by excitonic effects impacting the structures of the spectrum at low and higher energy regimes mixed by single particle effects at high energies. The exciton distribution of the low-energy states, in particular of S1, is highly anisotropic and localized mostly on one water molecule. The S1 state is essentially a HOCO-LUCO (highest occupied crystal orbital - lowest unoccupied crystal orbital) transition and of intra-molecular type, showing a localized valence character. Once the excitation energy is increased, a significant change in the character of the electronically excited states occurs, characterized through emergence of multiple quasi-particle peaks at 7.9 eV in the quasi-particle (QP) transition profile and in the occurring delocalized exciton density distribution, spread over many more water molecules. The exciton delocalization following a change of the character of excited states at around 7.9 eV causes the blue shift of the first absorption band with respect to water monomer S1. However, due to reduction of the electronic band gap from gas to liquid phase, following enhanced screening upon condensation, the localized S1 state of liquid water is red-shifted with respect to S1 state of water monomer. For higher excitations, near vertical ionization energy (11 eV), quasi-free electrons emerge, in agreement with the conduction band electron picture. Furthermore, the occurring red and blue shift of the excited states are independent of the coupling of resonant and anti-resonant contributions to the spectrum.

Red and blue shift of liquid water’s excited states: A many body perturbation study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ziaei, Vafa, E-mail: ziaei@thch.uni-bonn.de; Bredow, Thomas, E-mail: bredow@thch.uni-bonn.de

In the present paper, accurate optical absorption spectrum of liquid H{sub 2}O is calculated in the energy range of 5–20 eV to probe the nature of water’s excited states by means of many body perturbation approach. Main features of recent inelastic X-ray measurements are well reproduced, such as a bound excitonic peak at 7.9 eV with a shoulder at 9.4 eV as well as the absorption maximum at 13.9 eV, followed by a broad shoulder at 18.4 eV. The spectrum is dominated by excitonic effects impacting the structures of the spectrum at low and higher energy regimes mixed by singlemore » particle effects at high energies. The exciton distribution of the low-energy states, in particular of S{sub 1}, is highly anisotropic and localized mostly on one water molecule. The S{sub 1} state is essentially a HOCO-LUCO (highest occupied crystal orbital - lowest unoccupied crystal orbital) transition and of intra-molecular type, showing a localized valence character. Once the excitation energy is increased, a significant change in the character of the electronically excited states occurs, characterized through emergence of multiple quasi-particle peaks at 7.9 eV in the quasi-particle (QP) transition profile and in the occurring delocalized exciton density distribution, spread over many more water molecules. The exciton delocalization following a change of the character of excited states at around 7.9 eV causes the blue shift of the first absorption band with respect to water monomer S{sub 1}. However, due to reduction of the electronic band gap from gas to liquid phase, following enhanced screening upon condensation, the localized S{sub 1} state of liquid water is red-shifted with respect to S{sub 1} state of water monomer. For higher excitations, near vertical ionization energy (11 eV), quasi-free electrons emerge, in agreement with the conduction band electron picture. Furthermore, the occurring red and blue shift of the excited states are independent of the coupling of resonant and anti-resonant contributions to the spectrum.« less

Spin-adapted open-shell random phase approximation and time-dependent density functional theory. I. Theory.

PubMed

Li, Zhendong; Liu, Wenjian

2010-08-14

The spin-adaptation of single-reference quantum chemical methods for excited states of open-shell systems has been nontrivial. The primary reason is that the configuration space, generated by a truncated rank of excitations from only one component of a reference multiplet, is spin-incomplete. Those "missing" configurations are of higher ranks and can, in principle, be recaptured by a particular class of excitation operators. However, the resulting formalisms are then quite involved and there are situations [e.g., time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) under the adiabatic approximation] that prevent one from doing so. To solve this issue, we propose here a tensor-coupling scheme that invokes all the components of a reference multiplet (i.e., a tensor reference) rather than increases the excitation ranks. A minimal spin-adapted n-tuply excited configuration space can readily be constructed by tensor products between the n-tuple tensor excitation operators and the chosen tensor reference. Further combined with the tensor equation-of-motion formalism, very compact expressions for excitation energies can be obtained. As a first application of this general idea, a spin-adapted open-shell random phase approximation is first developed. The so-called "translation rule" is then adopted to formulate a spin-adapted, restricted open-shell Kohn-Sham (ROKS)-based TD-DFT (ROKS-TD-DFT). Here, a particular symmetry structure has to be imposed on the exchange-correlation kernel. While the standard ROKS-TD-DFT can access only excited states due to singlet-coupled single excitations, i.e., only some of the singly excited states of the same spin (S(i)) as the reference, the new scheme can capture all the excited states of spin S(i)-1, S(i), or S(i)+1 due to both singlet- and triplet-coupled single excitations. The actual implementation and computation are very much like the (spin-contaminated) unrestricted Kohn-Sham-based TD-DFT. It is also shown that spin-contaminated spin-flip configuration interaction approaches can easily be spin-adapted via the tensor-coupling scheme.

Resonant Coherent Excitation of Hydrogen-Like Ar Ions to the n =: 3 States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azuma, T.; Ito, T.; Takabayashi, Y.; Komaki, K.; Yamazaki, Y.; Yamazaki, Y.; Takada, E.; Murakami, T.

We have succeeded in observing resonant coherent excitaion (RCE) of 1s electrons to the n = 3 states in 390 MeV/u hydrogen-like Ar17+ ions planar channeled in a silicon crystal through measurements of the charge-state distribution of ions transmitting the crystal. Furthermore, we directly confirmed RCE to the n = 3 states by observing the enhancement of the de-excitation X-rays, i.e., Kβ X-rays under the resonance condition. The resonance profiles of the charge-state distribution as functions of the incident angle to the crystal, which uniquely relates with the transition energy, have a characteristic structure consisting of several peaks. Compared with the profile of RCE to the n = 2 states, the present profiles show a large peak shift from the j = 1/2 and 3/2 levels in vacuum, and the profiles are much wider than those expected from the Stark-split level structure of the n = 3 manifolds due to the position- (distance from the channel center in the planar channel) dependent strong static field in the crystal.

Non-perturbative RPA-method implemented in the Coulomb gauge QCD Hamiltonian: From quarks and gluons to baryons and mesons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yepez-Martinez, Tochtli; Civitarese, Osvaldo; Hess, Peter O.

2018-02-01

Starting from an algebraic model based on the QCD-Hamiltonian and previously applied to study meson states, we have developed an extension of it in order to explore the structure of baryon states. In developing our approach we have adapted concepts taken from group theory and non-perturbative many-body methods to describe states built from effective quarks and anti-quarks degrees of freedom. As a Hamiltonian we have used the QCD Hamiltonian written in the Coulomb Gauge, and expressed it in terms of effective quark-antiquark, di-quarks and di-antiquark excitations. To gain some insights about the relevant interactions of quarks in hadronic states, the Hamiltonian was approximately diagonalized by mapping quark-antiquark pairs and di-quarks (di-antiquarks) onto phonon states. In dealing with the structure of the vacuum of the theory, color-scalar and color-vector states are introduced to account for ground-state correlations. While the use of a purely color-scalar ground state is an obvious choice, so that colorless hadrons contain at least three quarks, the presence of coupled color-vector pairs in the ground state allows for colorless excitations resulting from the action of color objects upon it.

Lateral carrier diffusion in InGaAs/GaAs coupled quantum dot-quantum well system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pieczarka, M.; Syperek, M.; Biegańska, D.; Gilfert, C.; Pavelescu, E. M.; Reithmaier, J. P.; Misiewicz, J.; Sek, G.

2017-05-01

The lateral carrier diffusion process is investigated in coupled InGaAs/GaAs quantum dot-quantum well (QD-QW) structures by means of spatially resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy at low temperature. Under non-resonant photo-excitation above the GaAs bandgap, the lateral carrier transport reflected in the distorted electron-hole pair emission profiles is found to be mainly governed by high energy carriers created within the 3D density of states of GaAs. In contrast, for the case of resonant excitation tuned to the QW-like ground state of the QD-QW system, the emission profiles remain unaffected by the excess kinetic energy of carriers and local phonon heating within the pump spot. The lateral diffusion lengths are determined and present certain dependency on the coupling strength between QW and QDs. While for a strongly coupled structure the diffusion length is found to be around 0.8 μm and monotonically increases up to 1.4 μm with the excitation power density, in weakly coupled structures, it is determined to ca. 1.6 μm and remained virtually independent of the pumping power density.

Fluorescent molecular probes based on excited state prototropism in lipid bilayer membrane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohapatra, Monalisa; Mishra, Ashok K.

2012-03-01

Excited state prototropism (ESPT) is observed in molecules having one or more ionizable protons, whose proton transfer efficiency is different in ground and excited states. The interaction of various ESPT molecules like naphthols and intramolecular ESPT (ESIPT) molecules like hydroxyflavones etc. with different microheterogeneous media have been studied in detail and excited state prototropism as a probe concept has been gaining ground. The fluorescence of different prototropic forms of such molecules, on partitioning to an organized medium like lipid bilayer membrane, often show sensitive response to the local environment with respect to the local structure, physical properties and dynamics. Our recent work using 1-naphthol as an ESPT fluorescent molecular probe has shown that the incorporation of monomeric bile salt molecules into lipid bilayer membranes composed from dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC, a lung surfactant) and dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC), in solid gel and liquid crystalline phases, induce appreciable wetting of the bilayer up to the hydrocarbon core region, even at very low (<= 1 mM) concentrations of the bile salts. The incorporation and location of fisetin, an ESIPT molecule having antioxidant properties, in lipid bilayer membrane has been sensitively monitored from its intrinsic fluorescence behaviour.

Torsional Dynamics, Intramolecular Charge Transfer, and Solvent Friction in the S2 (11Bu+) Excited State of Peridinin: A Mechanism for Enhanced Mid-Visible Light Harvesting in the Peridinin-Chlorophyll a Protein

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beck, Warren; Roscioli, Jerome; Ghosh, Soumen; Bishop, Michael; Lafountain, Amy; Frank, Harry

The structural mechanism that allows peridinin to provide one of the highest quantum efficiencies for excitation energy transfer to chlorophyll (Chl) a acceptors in the peridinin-chlorophyll a protein (PCP) from dinoflagellates involves an order-of-magnitude slowing of the S2 (11Bu+)--> S1 (21Ag-)nonradiative decay pathway compared to carotenoids lacking carbonyl substitution. Using femtosecond transient grating spectroscopy with heterodyne detection, we have determined for the first time that the decay of an intermediate state termed Sx, which we assign to a twisted form of the S2 state, is substantially slowed by solvent friction in peridinin due to its intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) character. The Sx intermediate exhibits a long enough lifetime to serve as an efficient excitation energy transfer donor to Chl a in PCP. The possibility that the Franck-Condon S2 state also transfers excitation via quantum coherent mechanisms is being considered currently using broadband two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy. Support from the DOE/BES Photosynthetic Systems Program, Grant DE-SC0010847.

Targeting excited states in all-trans polyenes with electron-pair states.

PubMed

Boguslawski, Katharina

2016-12-21

Wavefunctions restricted to electron pair states are promising models for strongly correlated systems. Specifically, the pair Coupled Cluster Doubles (pCCD) ansatz allows us to accurately describe bond dissociation processes and heavy-element containing compounds with multiple quasi-degenerate single-particle states. Here, we extend the pCCD method to model excited states using the equation of motion (EOM) formalism. As the cluster operator of pCCD is restricted to electron-pair excitations, EOM-pCCD allows us to target excited electron-pair states only. To model singly excited states within EOM-pCCD, we modify the configuration interaction ansatz of EOM-pCCD to contain also single excitations. Our proposed model represents a simple and cost-effective alternative to conventional EOM-CC methods to study singly excited electronic states. The performance of the excited state models is assessed against the lowest-lying excited states of the uranyl cation and the two lowest-lying excited states of all-trans polyenes. Our numerical results suggest that EOM-pCCD including single excitations is a good starting point to target singly excited states.

Excitation Dependent Phosphorous Property and New Model of the Structured Green Luminescence in ZnO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Honggang; Su, Zhicheng; Tang, Fei; Wang, Mingzheng; Chen, Guangde; Wang, Jian; Xu, Shijie

2017-02-01

The copper induced green luminescence (GL) with two sets of fine structures in ZnO crystal has been found for several decades (i.e., R. Dingle, Phys. Rev. Lett. 23, 579 (1969)), but the physical origin of the doublet still remains as an open question up to now. In this paper, we provide new insight into the mechanism of the structured GL band in terms of new experimental findings and theoretical calculations. It is found, for the first time, that the GL signal exhibits persistent afterglow for tens of minutes after the switch-off of below-band-gap excitation light but it cannot occur under above-band-gap excitation. Such a phosphorous property may be interpreted as de-trapping and feeding of electrons from a shallow trapping level via the conduction band to the Cu-related luminescence centers where the Cu3+ ion is proposed to work as the final state of the GL emission. From first-principles calculation, such a Cu3+ ion in wurtzite ZnO prefers a high spin 3d8 state with two non-degenerated half-filled orbitals due to the Jahn-Teller effect, probably leading to the double structures in photoluminescence spectrum. Therefore, this model gives a comprehensively new understanding on the mechanism of the structured GL band in ZnO.

On the ultraviolet photodissociation of H2Te

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alekseyev, Aleksey B.; Liebermann, Heinz-Peter; Wittig, Curt

2004-11-01

The photodissociation of H2Te through excitation in the first absorption band is investigated by means of multireference spin-orbit configuration interaction (CI) calculations. Bending potentials for low-lying electronic states of H2Te are obtained in C2v symmetry for Te-H distances fixed at the ground state equilibrium value of 3.14a0, as well as for the minimum energy path constrained to R1=R2. Asymmetric cuts of potential energy surfaces for excited states (at R1=3.14a0 and θ=90.3°) are obtained for the first time. It is shown that vibrational structure in the 380-400 nm region of the long wavelength absorption tail is due to transitions to 3A', which has a shallow minimum at large HTe-H separations. Transitions to this state are polarized in the molecular plane, and this state converges to the excited TeH(2Π1/2)+H(2S) limit. These theoretical data are in accord with the selectivity toward TeH(2Π1/2) relative to TeH(2Π3/2) that has been found experimentally for 355 nm H2Te photodissociation. The calculated 3A'←X˜A' transition dipole moment increases rapidly with HTe-H distance; this explains the observation of 3A' vibrational structure for low vibrational levels, despite unfavorable Franck-Condon factors. According to the calculated vertical energies and transition moment data, the maximum in the first absorption band at ≈245 nm is caused by excitation to 4A″, which has predominantly 21A″ (1B1 in C2v symmetry) character.

Electronic spectra and excited-state dynamics of acridine and its hydrated clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harthcock, Colin; Zhang, Jie; Kong, Wei; Mitsui, Masaaki; Ohshima, Yasuhiro

2017-04-01

We combine results from several different experiments to investigate the photophysics of acridine (Ac) and its hydrated clusters in the gas phase. Our findings are also compared with results from condensed phase studies. Similar to measurements of Ac dissolved in hydrocarbons, the lifetime of the first electronically excited state of isolated Ac in vacuum is too short for typical resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) and laser induced fluorescence (LIF) experiments, hence no signal from REMPI and LIF can be attributed to monomeric Ac. Instead, sensitized phosphorescence emission spectroscopy is more successful in revealing the electronic states of Ac. Upon clustering with water, on the other hand, the lifetimes of the excited states are substantially increased to the nanosecond scale, and with two water molecules attached to Ac, the lifetime of the hydrated cluster is essentially the same as that of Ac in aqueous solutions. Detailed REMPI and ultraviolet-ultraviolet hole-burning experiments are then performed to reveal the structural information of the hydrated clusters. Although the formation of hydrogen bonds results in energy level reversal and energy separation between the first two excited states of Ac, its effect on the internal geometry of Ac is minimal, and all clusters with 1-3 water molecules demonstrate consistent intramolecular vibrational modes. Theoretical calculations reveal just one stable structure for each cluster under supersonic molecular beam conditions. Furthermore, different from mono- and di-water clusters, tri-water clusters consist of a linear chain of three water molecules attached to Ac. Consequently, the fragmentation pattern in the REMPI spectrum of tri-water clusters seems to be dominated by water trimer elimination, since the REMPI spectrum of Ac+.W3 is largely reproduced in the Ac+ mass channel, but not in the Ac+.W1 or Ac+.W2 channel.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Plasser, Felix, E-mail: felix.plasser@univie.ac.at

A new perspective into correlation effects in electronically excited states is provided through quantum information theory. The entanglement between the electron and hole quasiparticles is examined, and it is shown that the related entanglement entropy can be computed from the eigenvalue spectrum of the well-known natural transition orbital (NTO) decomposition. Non-vanishing entanglement is obtained whenever more than one NTO pair is involved, i.e., in the case of a multiconfigurational or collective excitation. An important implication is that in the case of entanglement it is not possible to gain a complete description of the state character from the orbitals alone, butmore » more specific analysis methods are required to decode the mutual information between the electron and hole. Moreover, the newly introduced number of entangled states is an important property by itself giving information about excitonic structure. The utility of the formalism is illustrated in the cases of the excited states of two interacting ethylene molecules, the conjugated polymer para-phenylene vinylene, and the naphthalene molecule.« less

Baryon spin-flavor structure from an analysis of lattice QCD results of the baryon spectrum

DOE PAGES

Fernando, I. P.; Goity, J. L.

2015-02-01

The excited baryon masses are analyzed in the framework of the 1/Nc expansion using the available physical masses and also the masses obtained in lattice QCD for different quark masses. The baryon states are organized into irreducible representations of SU(6) x O(3), where the [56,l P=0⁺] ground state and excited baryons, and the [56,2 +] and [70}},1 -] excited states are analyzed. The analyses are carried out to order O(1/N c) and first order in the quark masses. The issue of state identifications is discussed. Numerous parameter independent mass relations result at those orders, among them the well known Gell-Mann-Okubomore » and Equal Spacing relations, as well as additional relations involving baryons with different spins. It is observed that such relations are satisfied at the expected level of precision. The main conclusion of the analysis is that qualitatively the dominant physical effects are similar for the physical and the lattice QCD baryons.« less

Selective ultrafast probing of transient hot chemisorbed and precursor states of CO on Ru(0001).

PubMed

Beye, M; Anniyev, T; Coffee, R; Dell'Angela, M; Föhlisch, A; Gladh, J; Katayama, T; Kaya, S; Krupin, O; Møgelhøj, A; Nilsson, A; Nordlund, D; Nørskov, J K; Öberg, H; Ogasawara, H; Pettersson, L G M; Schlotter, W F; Sellberg, J A; Sorgenfrei, F; Turner, J J; Wolf, M; Wurth, W; Oström, H

2013-05-03

We have studied the femtosecond dynamics following optical laser excitation of CO adsorbed on a Ru surface by monitoring changes in the occupied and unoccupied electronic structure using ultrafast soft x-ray absorption and emission. We recently reported [M. Dell'Angela et al. Science 339, 1302 (2013)] a phonon-mediated transition into a weakly adsorbed precursor state occurring on a time scale of >2 ps prior to desorption. Here we focus on processes within the first picosecond after laser excitation and show that the metal-adsorbate coordination is initially increased due to hot-electron-driven vibrational excitations. This process is faster than, but occurs in parallel with, the transition into the precursor state. With resonant x-ray emission spectroscopy, we probe each of these states selectively and determine the respective transient populations depending on optical laser fluence. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of CO adsorbed on Ru(0001) were performed at 1500 and 3000 K providing insight into the desorption process.

Laser resonance ionization spectroscopy of antimony

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, R.; Lassen, J.; Ruczkowski, J.; Teigelhöfer, A.; Bricault, P.

2017-02-01

The resonant ionization laser ion source is an element selective, efficient and versatile ion source to generate radioactive ion beams at on-line mass separator facilities. For some elements with complex atomic structures and incomplete spectroscopic data, laser spectroscopic investigations are required for ionization scheme development. Laser resonance ionization spectroscopy using Ti:Sa lasers has been performed on antimony (Sb) at TRIUMF's off-line laser ion source test stand. Laser light of 230.217 nm (vacuum wavelength) as the first excitation step and light from a frequency-doubled Nd:YVO4 laser (532 nm) as the nonresonant ionization step allowed to search for suitable second excitation steps by continuous wavelength scans from 720 nm to 920 nm across the wavelength tuning range of a grating-tuned Ti:Sa laser. Upon the identification of efficient SES, the third excitation steps for resonance ionization were investigated by laser scans across Rydberg states, the ionization potential and autoionizing states. One Rydberg state and six AI states were found to be well suitable for efficient resonance ionization.

Theoretical studies for the rates and kinetic isotope effects of the excited-state double proton transfer in the 1:1 7-azaindole:H2O complex using variational transition state theory including multidimensional tunneling.

PubMed

Duong, My Phu Thi; Kim, Yongho

2010-03-18

Variational transition state theory calculations including multidimensional tunneling (VTST/MT) for excited-state tautomerization in the 1:1 7-azaindole:H(2)O complex were performed. Electronic structures and energies for reactant, product, transition state, and potential energy curves along the reaction coordinate were computed at the CASSCF(10,9)/6-31G(d,p) level of theory. The potential energies were corrected by second-order multireference perturbation theory to take the dynamic electron correlation into consideration. The final potential energy curves along the reaction coordinate were generated at the MRPT2//CASSCF(10,9)/6-31G(d,p) level. Two protons in the excited-state tautomerization are transferred concertedly, albeit asynchronously. The position of the variational transition state is very different from the conventional transition state, and is highly dependent on isotopic substitution. Rate constants were calculated using VTST/MT, and were on the order of 10(-6) s(-1) at room temperature. The HH/DD kinetic isotope effects are consistent with experimental observations; consideration of both tunneling and variational effects was essential to predict the experimental values correctly.

Electronic and transport properties of Cobalt-based valence tautomeric molecules and polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yifeng; Calzolari, Arrigo; Buongiorno Nardelli, Marco

2011-03-01

The advancement of molecular spintronics requires further understandings of the fundamental electronic structures and transport properties of prototypical spintronics molecules and polymers. Here we present a density functional based theoretical study of the electronic structures of Cobalt-based valence tautomeric molecules Co III (SQ)(Cat)L Co II (SQ)2 L and their polymers, where SQ refers to the semiquinone ligand, and Cat the catecholate ligand, while L is a redox innocent backbone ligand. The conversion from low-spin Co III ground state to high-spin Co II excited state is realized by imposing an on-site potential U on the Co atom and elongating the Co-N bond. Transport properties are subsequently calculated by extracting electronic Wannier functions from these systems and computing the charge transport in the ballistic regime using a Non-Equilibrium Green's Function (NEGF) approach. Our transport results show distinct charge transport properties between low-spin ground state and high-spin excited state, hence suggesting potential spintronics devices from these molecules and polymers such as spin valves.

Optical spectroscopy of excited exciton states in MoS2 monolayers in van der Waals heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robert, C.; Semina, M. A.; Cadiz, F.; Manca, M.; Courtade, E.; Taniguchi, T.; Watanabe, K.; Cai, H.; Tongay, S.; Lassagne, B.; Renucci, P.; Amand, T.; Marie, X.; Glazov, M. M.; Urbaszek, B.

2018-01-01

The optical properties of MoS2 monolayers are dominated by excitons, but for spectrally broad optical transitions in monolayers exfoliated directly onto SiO2 substrates detailed information on excited exciton states is inaccessible. Encapsulation in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) allows approaching the homogenous exciton linewidth, but interferences in the van der Waals heterostructures make direct comparison between transitions in optical spectra with different oscillator strength more challenging. Here we reveal in reflectivity and in photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy the presence of excited states of the A exciton in MoS2 monolayers encapsulated in hBN layers of calibrated thickness, allowing us to extrapolate an exciton binding energy of ≈220 meV. We theoretically reproduce the energy separations and oscillator strengths measured in reflectivity by combining the exciton resonances calculated for a screened two-dimensional Coulomb potential with transfer matrix calculations of the reflectivity for the van der Waals structure. Our analysis shows a very different evolution of the exciton oscillator strength with principal quantum number for the screened Coulomb potential as compared to the ideal two-dimensional hydrogen model.

Nuclear Structure of the Closed Subshell Nucleus 90Zr Studied with the (n,n'(gamma)) Reaction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Garrett, P E; Younes, Y; Becker, J A

States in {sup 90}Zr have been observed with the (n,n{prime}{gamma}) reaction using both spallation and monoenergetic accelerator-produced neutrons. A scheme comprised of 81 levels and 157 transitions was constructed concentrating on levels below 5.6 MeV in excitation energy. Spins have been determined by considering data from all experimental studies performed for {sup 90}Zr. Lifetimes have been deduced using the Doppler-shift attenuation method for many of the states and transition rates have been obtained. A spherical shell-model interpretation in terms of particle-hole excitations assuming a {sup 88}Sr closed core is given. In some cases, enhancements in B(M1) and B(E2) values aremore » observed that cannot be explained by assuming simple particle-hole excitations. Shell-model calculations using an extended f pg-shell model space reproduce the spectrum of excited states very well, and the gross features of the B(M1) and B(E2) transition rates. Transition rates for individual levels show discrepancies between calculations and experimental values.« less

Detailed Characterization of a Nanosecond-Lived Excited State: X-ray and Theoretical Investigation of the Quintet State in Photoexcited [Fe(terpy)2]2+

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Theoretical predictions show that depending on the populations of the Fe 3dxy, 3dxz, and 3dyz orbitals two possible quintet states can exist for the high-spin state of the photoswitchable model system [Fe(terpy)2]2+. The differences in the structure and molecular properties of these 5B2 and 5E quintets are very small and pose a substantial challenge for experiments to resolve them. Yet for a better understanding of the physics of this system, which can lead to the design of novel molecules with enhanced photoswitching performance, it is vital to determine which high-spin state is reached in the transitions that follow the light excitation. The quintet state can be prepared with a short laser pulse and can be studied with cutting-edge time-resolved X-ray techniques. Here we report on the application of an extended set of X-ray spectroscopy and scattering techniques applied to investigate the quintet state of [Fe(terpy)2]2+ 80 ps after light excitation. High-quality X-ray absorption, nonresonant emission, and resonant emission spectra as well as X-ray diffuse scattering data clearly reflect the formation of the high-spin state of the [Fe(terpy)2]2+ molecule; moreover, extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy resolves the Fe–ligand bond-length variations with unprecedented bond-length accuracy in time-resolved experiments. With ab initio calculations we determine why, in contrast to most related systems, one configurational mode is insufficient for the description of the low-spin (LS)–high-spin (HS) transition. We identify the electronic structure origin of the differences between the two possible quintet modes, and finally, we unambiguously identify the formed quintet state as 5E, in agreement with our theoretical expectations. PMID:25838847

Detailed Characterization of a Nanosecond-Lived Excited State: X-ray and Theoretical Investigation of the Quintet State in Photoexcited [Fe(terpy) 2 ] 2+

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vankó, György; Bordage, Amélie; Pápai, Mátyás

2015-03-19

Theoretical predictions show that depending on the populations of the Fe 3dxy, 3dxz, and 3dyz orbitals two possible quintet states can exist for the high-spin state of the photoswitchable model system [Fe(terpy)2]2+. The differences in the structure and molecular properties of these 5B2 and 5E quintets are very small and pose a substantial challenge for experiments to resolve them. Yet for a better understanding of the physics of this system, which can lead to the design of novel molecules with enhanced photoswitching performance, it is vital to determine which high-spin state is reached in the transitions that follow the lightmore » excitation. The quintet state can be prepared with a short laser pulse and can be studied with cutting-edge time-resolved X-ray techniques. Here we report on the application of an extended set of X-ray spectroscopy and scattering techniques applied to investigate the quintet state of [Fe(terpy)2]2+ 80 ps after light excitation. High-quality X-ray absorption, nonresonant emission, and resonant emission spectra as well as X-ray diffuse scattering data clearly reflect the formation of the high-spin state of the [Fe(terpy)2]2+ molecule; moreover, extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy resolves the Fe-ligand bond-length variations with unprecedented bondlength accuracy in time-resolved experiments. With ab initio calculations we determine why, in contrast to most related systems, one configurational mode is insufficient for the description of the low-spin (LS)-high-spin (HS) transition. We identify the electronic structure origin of the differences between the two possible quintet modes, and finally, we unambiguously identify the formed quintet state as 5E, in agreement with our theoretical expectations.« less

Detailed Characterization of a Nanosecond-Lived Excited State: X-ray and Theoretical Investigation of the Quintet State in Photoexcited [Fe(terpy) 2 ] 2+

DOE PAGES

Vanko, Gyorgy; Bordage, Amelie; Papai, Matyas; ...

2015-03-19

Theoretical predictions show that depending on the populations of the Fe 3d xy, 3d xz, and 3d yz orbitals two possible quintet states can exist for the high-spin state of the photoswitchable model system [Fe(terpy) 2] 2+. The differences in the structure and molecular properties of these 5B2 and 5E quintets are very small and pose a substantial challenge for experiments to resolve them. Yet for a better understanding of the physics of this system, which can lead to the design of novel molecules with enhanced photoswitching performance, it is vital to determine which high-spin state is reached in themore » transitions that follow the light excitation. The quintet state can be prepared with a short laser pulse and can be studied with cutting-edge time-resolved X-ray techniques. Here we report on the application of an extended set of X-ray spectroscopy and scattering techniques applied to investigate the quintet state of [Fe(terpy) 2] 2+ 80 ps after light excitation. High-quality X-ray absorption, nonresonant emission, and resonant emission spectra as well as X-ray diffuse scattering data clearly reflect the formation of the high-spin state of the [Fe(terpy) 2] 2+ molecule; moreover, extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy resolves the Fe–ligand bond-length variations with unprecedented bond-length accuracy in time-resolved experiments. With ab initio calculations we determine why, in contrast to most related systems, one configurational mode is insufficient for the description of the low-spin (LS)–high-spin (HS) transition. We identify the electronic structure origin of the differences between the two possible quintet modes, and finally, we unambiguously identify the formed quintet state as 5E, in agreement with our theoretical expectations.« less

Interplay of spin-dependent delocalization and magnetic anisotropy in the ground and excited states of [Gd2@C78]- and [Gd2@C80]-

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mansikkamäki, Akseli; Popov, Alexey A.; Deng, Qingming; Iwahara, Naoya; Chibotaru, Liviu F.

2017-09-01

The magnetic properties and electronic structure of the ground and excited states of two recently characterized endohedral metallo-fullerenes, [Gd2@C78]- (1) and [Gd2@C80]- (2), have been studied by theoretical methods. The systems can be considered as [Gd2]5+ dimers encapsulated in a fullerene cage with the fifteen unpaired electrons ferromagnetically coupled into an S = 15/2 high-spin configuration in the ground state. The microscopic mechanisms governing the Gd-Gd interactions leading to the ferromagnetic ground state are examined by a combination of density functional and ab initio calculations and the full energy spectrum of the ground and lowest excited states is constructed by means of ab initio model Hamiltonians. The ground state is characterized by strong electron delocalization bordering on a σ type one-electron covalent bond and minor zero-field splitting (ZFS) that is successfully described as a second order spin-orbit coupling effect. We have shown that the observed ferromagnetic interaction originates from Hund's rule coupling and not from the conventional double exchange mechanism. The calculated ZFS parameters of 1 and 2 in their optimized geometries are in qualitative agreement with experimental EPR results. The higher excited states display less electron delocalization, but at the same time they possess unquenched first-order angular momentum. This leads to strong spin-orbit coupling and highly anisotropic energy spectrum. The analysis of the excited states presented here constitutes the first detailed study of the effects of spin-dependent delocalization in the presence of first order orbital angular momentum and the obtained results can be applied to other mixed valence lanthanide systems.

ESIPT and photodissociation of 3-hydroxychromone in solution: photoinduced processes studied by static and time-resolved UV/Vis, fluorescence, and IR spectroscopy.

PubMed

Chevalier, Katharina; Grün, Anneken; Stamm, Anke; Schmitt, Yvonne; Gerhards, Markus; Diller, Rolf

2013-11-07

The spectral properties of fluorescence sensors such as 3-hydroxychromone (3-HC) and its derivatives are sensitive to interaction with the surrounding medium as well as to substitution. 3-HC is a prototype system for other derivatives because it is the basic unit of all flavonoides undergoing ESIPT and is not perturbed by a substituent. In this study, the elementary processes and intermediate states in the photocycle of 3-HC as well as its anion were identified and characterized by the use of static and femtosecond time-resolved spectroscopy in different solvents (methylcyclohexane, acetonitrile, ethanol, and water at different pH). Electronic absorption and fluorescence spectra and lifetimes of the intermediate states were obtained for the normal, tautomer and anionic excited state, while mid-IR vibrational spectra yielded structural information on ground and excited states of 3-HC. A high sensitivity on hydrogen-bonding perturbations was observed, leading to photoinduced anion formation in water, while in organic solvents, different processes are suggested, including slow picosecond ESIPT and contribution of the trans-structure excited state or a different stable solvation state with different direction of OH. The formation of the latter could be favored by the lack of a substituent increasing contact points for specific solute-solvent interactions at the hydroxyl group compared to substituted derivatives. The effect of substituents has to be considered for the design of future fluorescence sensors based on 3-HC.

Magnetic structure and excitation spectrum of the hyperhoneycomb Kitaev magnet β -Li2IrO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ducatman, Samuel; Rousochatzakis, Ioannis; Perkins, Natalia B.

2018-03-01

We present a theoretical study of the static and dynamical properties of the three-dimensional, hyperhoneycomb Kitaev magnet β -Li2IrO3 . We argue that the observed incommensurate order can be understood in terms of a long-wavelength twisting of a nearby commensurate period-3 state, with the same key qualitatively features. The period-3 state shows very different structure when either the Kitaev interaction K or the off-diagonal exchange anisotropy Γ is dominant. A comparison of the associated static spin structure factors with reported scattering experiments in zero and finite fields gives strong evidence that β -Li2IrO3 lies in the regime of dominant Kitaev coupling, and that the Heisenberg exchange J is much weaker than both K and Γ . Our predictions for the magnon excitation spectra, the dynamical spin structure factors, and their polarization dependence provide additional distinctive fingerprints that can be checked experimentally.

Laser-induced fluorescence fiber optic probe measurement of oil dilution by fuel

DOEpatents

Parks, II, James E [Knoxville, TN; Partridge, Jr., William P [Oak Ridge, TN

2010-11-23

Apparatus for detecting fuel in oil includes an excitation light source in optical communication with an oil sample for exposing the oil sample to excitation light in order to excite the oil sample from a non-excited state to an excited state and a spectrally selective device in optical communication with the oil sample for detecting light emitted from the oil sample as the oil sample returns from the excited state to a non-excited state to produce spectral indicia that can be analyzed to determine the presence of fuel in the oil sample. A method of detecting fuel in oil includes the steps of exposing a oil sample to excitation light in order to excite the oil sample from a non-excited state to an excited state, as the oil sample returns from the excited state to a non-excited state, detecting light emitted from the oil sample to produce spectral indicia; and analyzing the spectral indicia to determine the presence of fuel in the oil sample.

Anti-correlated spectral motion in bisphthalocyanines: evidence for vibrational modulation of electronic mixing.

PubMed

Prall, Bradley S; Parkinson, Dilworth Y; Ishikawa, Naoto; Fleming, Graham R

2005-12-08

We exploit a coherently excited nuclear wave packet to study nuclear motion modulation of electronic structure in a metal bridged phthalocyanine dimer, lutetium bisphthalocyanine, which displays two visible absorption bands. We find that the nuclear coordinate influences the energies of the underlying exciton and charge resonance states as well as their interaction; the interplay of the various couplings creates unusual anti-correlated spectral motion in the two bands. Excited state relaxation dynamics are the same regardless of which transition is pumped, with decay time constants of 1.5 and 11 ps. The dynamics are analyzed using a three-state kinetic model after relaxation from one or two additional states faster than the experimental time resolution of 50-100 fs.

The Impact of Structural Heterogeneity on Excitation-Inhibition Balance in Cortical Networks.

PubMed

Landau, Itamar D; Egger, Robert; Dercksen, Vincent J; Oberlaender, Marcel; Sompolinsky, Haim

2016-12-07

Models of cortical dynamics often assume a homogeneous connectivity structure. However, we show that heterogeneous input connectivity can prevent the dynamic balance between excitation and inhibition, a hallmark of cortical dynamics, and yield unrealistically sparse and temporally regular firing. Anatomically based estimates of the connectivity of layer 4 (L4) rat barrel cortex and numerical simulations of this circuit indicate that the local network possesses substantial heterogeneity in input connectivity, sufficient to disrupt excitation-inhibition balance. We show that homeostatic plasticity in inhibitory synapses can align the functional connectivity to compensate for structural heterogeneity. Alternatively, spike-frequency adaptation can give rise to a novel state in which local firing rates adjust dynamically so that adaptation currents and synaptic inputs are balanced. This theory is supported by simulations of L4 barrel cortex during spontaneous and stimulus-evoked conditions. Our study shows how synaptic and cellular mechanisms yield fluctuation-driven dynamics despite structural heterogeneity in cortical circuits. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Manifolds of magnetic ordered states and excitations in the almost Heisenberg pyrochlore antiferromagnet MgCr2O4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, S.; Guratinder, K.; Stuhr, U.; White, J. S.; Mansson, M.; Roessli, B.; Fennell, T.; Tsurkan, V.; Loidl, A.; Ciomaga Hatnean, M.; Balakrishnan, G.; Raymond, S.; Chapon, L.; Garlea, V. O.; Savici, A. T.; Cervellino, A.; Bombardi, A.; Chernyshov, D.; Rüegg, Ch.; Haraldsen, J. T.; Zaharko, O.

2018-04-01

In spinels A Cr2O4(A =Mg, Zn), realization of the classical pyrochlore Heisenberg antiferromagnet model is complicated by a strong spin-lattice coupling: the extensive degeneracy of the ground state is lifted by a magneto-structural transition at TN=12.5 K. We study the resulting low-temperature low-symmetry crystal structure by synchrotron x-ray diffraction. The consistent features of x-ray low-temperature patterns are explained by the tetragonal model of Ehrenberg et al. [Pow. Diff. 17, 230 (2002), 10.1154/1.1479738], while other features depend on sample or cooling protocol. A complex, partially ordered magnetic state is studied by neutron diffraction and spherical neutron polarimetry. Multiple magnetic domains of configuration arms of the propagation vectors k1=(1/2 1/2 0 ) ,k2=(1 0 1/2 ) appear. The ordered moment reaches 1.94(3) μB/Cr3 + for k1 and 2.08(3) μB/Cr3 + for k2, if equal amount of the k1 and k2 phases is assumed. The magnetic arrangements have the dominant components along the [110] and [1 -10 ] diagonals and a smaller c component. We use inelastic neutron scattering to investigate the spin excitations, which comprise a mixture of dispersive spin waves propagating from the magnetic Bragg peaks and resonance modes centered at equal energy steps of 4.5 meV. We interpret these as acoustic and optical spin wave branches, but show that the neutron scattering cross sections of transitions within a unit of two corner-sharing tetrahedra match the observed intensity distribution of the resonances. The distinctive fingerprint of clusterlike excitations in the optical spin wave branches suggests that propagating excitations are localized by the complex crystal structure and magnetic orders.

Broadband transient absorption spectroscopy with 1- and 2-photon excitations: Relaxation paths and cross sections of a triphenylamine dye in solution

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moreno, J.; Dobryakov, A. L.; Hecht, S., E-mail: sh@chemie.hu-berlin.de, E-mail: skovale@chemie.hu-berlin.de

2015-07-14

1-photon (382 nm) and 2-photon (752 nm) excitations to the S{sub 1} state are applied to record and compare transient absorption spectra of a push-pull triphenylamine (TrP) dye in solution. After 1-photon excitation, ultrafast vibrational and structural molecular relaxations are detected on a 0.1 ps time scale in nonpolar hexane, while in polar acetonitrile, the spectral evolution is dominated by dipolar solvation. Upon 2-photon excitation, transient spectra in hexane reveal an unexpected growth of stimulated emission (SE) and excited-state absorption (ESA) bands. The behavior is explained by strong population transfer S{sub 1} → S{sub n} due to resonant absorption ofmore » a third pump photon. Subsequent S{sub n} → S{sub 1} internal conversion (with τ{sub 1} = 1 ps) prepares a very hot S{sub 1} state which cools down with τ{sub 2} = 13 ps. The pump pulse energy dependence proves the 2-photon origin of the bleach signal. At the same time, SE and ESA are strongly affected by higher-order pump absorptions that should be taken into account in nonlinear fluorescence applications. The 2-photon excitation cross sections σ{sup (2)} = 32 ⋅ 10{sup −50} cm{sup 4} s at 752 nm are evaluated from the bleach signal.« less

Stochastic output error vibration-based damage detection and assessment in structures under earthquake excitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakellariou, J. S.; Fassois, S. D.

2006-11-01

A stochastic output error (OE) vibration-based methodology for damage detection and assessment (localization and quantification) in structures under earthquake excitation is introduced. The methodology is intended for assessing the state of a structure following potential damage occurrence by exploiting vibration signal measurements produced by low-level earthquake excitations. It is based upon (a) stochastic OE model identification, (b) statistical hypothesis testing procedures for damage detection, and (c) a geometric method (GM) for damage assessment. The methodology's advantages include the effective use of the non-stationary and limited duration earthquake excitation, the handling of stochastic uncertainties, the tackling of the damage localization and quantification subproblems, the use of "small" size, simple and partial (in both the spatial and frequency bandwidth senses) identified OE-type models, and the use of a minimal number of measured vibration signals. Its feasibility and effectiveness are assessed via Monte Carlo experiments employing a simple simulation model of a 6 storey building. It is demonstrated that damage levels of 5% and 20% reduction in a storey's stiffness characteristics may be properly detected and assessed using noise-corrupted vibration signals.

A π-conjugated system with flexibility and rigidity that shows environment-dependent RGB luminescence.

PubMed

Yuan, Chunxue; Saito, Shohei; Camacho, Cristopher; Irle, Stephan; Hisaki, Ichiro; Yamaguchi, Shigehiro

2013-06-19

We have designed and synthesized a π-conjugated system that consists of a flexible and nonplanar π joint and two emissive rigid and planar wings. This molecular system exhibits respectively red, green, and blue (RGB) emission from a single-component luminophore in different environments, namely in polymer matrix, in solution, and in crystals. The flexible unit gives rise to a dynamic conformational change in the excited state from a nonplanar V-shaped structure to a planar structure, leading to a dual fluorescence of blue and green colors. The rigid and planar moieties favor the formation of a two-fold π-stacked array of the V-shaped molecules in the crystalline state, which produces a red excimer-like emission. These RGB emissions are attained without changing the excitation energy.

The energy structure and decay channels of the 4p6-shell excited states in Sr

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kupliauskienė, A.; Kerevičius, G.; Borovik, V.; Shafranyosh, I.; Borovik, A.

2017-11-01

The ejected-electron spectra arising from the decay of the 4p{}5{{nln}}{\\prime }{l}{\\prime }{n}{\\prime\\prime }{l}{\\prime\\prime } autoionizing states in Sr atoms have been studied precisely at the incident-electron energies close to excitation and ionization thresholds of the 4{{{p}}}6 subshell. The excitation behaviors for 58 lines observed between 12 and 21 eV ejected-electron kinetic energy have been investigated. Also, the ab initio calculations of excitation energies, autoionization probabilities and electron-impact excitation cross sections of the states 4p{}5{{nln}}{\\prime }{l}{\\prime }{n}{\\prime\\prime }{l}{\\prime\\prime } (nl = 4d, 5s, 5p; {n}{\\prime }{l}{\\prime } = 4d, 5s, 5p; {n}{\\prime\\prime }{l}{\\prime\\prime } = 5s, 6s, 7s, 8s, 9s, 5p, 6p, 5d, 6d, 7d, 8d, 4f, 5g) have been performed by employing the large-scale configuration-interaction method in the basis of the solutions of Dirac-Fock-Slater equations. The obtained experimental and theoretical data have been used for the accurate identification of the 60 lines in ejected-electron spectra and the 68 lines observed earlier in photoabsorption spectra. The excitation and decay processes for 105 classified states in the 4p55s{}2{nl}, 4p54d{}2{nl} and 4p55s{{nln}}{\\prime }{l}{\\prime } configurations have been considered in detail. In particular, most of the states lying below the ionization threshold of the 4p6 subshell at 26.92 eV possess up to four decay channels with formation of Sr+ in 5s{}1/2, 4d{}3/{2,5/2} and 5p{}1/{2,3/2} states. Two-step autoionization and two-electron Auger transitions with formation of Sr2+ in the 4p6 {}1{{{S}}}0 ground state are the main decay paths for high-lying autoionizing states. The excitation threshold of the 4{{{p}}}6 subshell in Sr has been established at 20.98 ± 0.05 eV.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nesaraja, C.D.; McCutchan, E.A.

Available information pertaining to the nuclear structure of all nuclei with mass numbers A=41 ranging from Al (Z=13) to Ti (Z=22) are presented. The experimental reaction and decay data are evaluated and any inconsistencies or discrepancies are noted. The adopted values for various level properties (such as the spin, parity and and halflife) and gamma properties (energy, intensity and multipole character) are given. Since the prior evaluation several new measurements have expanded our knowledge of A=41 nuclides. The half-life of the ground state of {sup 41}Si has been determined and a single excited state identified. Excited levels in {sup 41}Pmore » have been observed for the first time. In {sup 41}Cl, seven new excited states have been identified in deep inelastic and heavy ion transfer reactions. Half-lifes for four states in {sup 41}Ar have been updated and additional levels with gammas have been included from a new measurement using the multiple ion transfer reaction. In {sup 41}Ca via charge-exchange reaction measurements, several new excited states were observed. A number of new resonances in {sup 41}K have been identified via the (p,γ) reaction. There remains a significant discrepancy in the half-life of the first excited state (980 keV) in {sup 41}K, with measurements differing by more than an order of magnitude. Transfer reactions suggest that this M1 transition should be l-forbidden, however, several measurements yield a lifetime which suggests a sizable M1 strength. Further measurements to resolve the current conflicts would be beneficial.« less

Nuclear Data Sheets for A = 41

DOE PAGES

Nesaraja, C. D.; McCutchan, E. A.

2016-03-01

Available information pertaining to the nuclear structure of all nuclei with mass numbers A=41 ranging from Al (Z=13) to Ti (Z=22) are presented. The experimental reaction and decay data are evaluated and any inconsistencies or discrepancies are noted. The adopted values for various level properties (such as the spin, parity and and halflife) and gamma properties (energy, intensity and multipole character) are given. Since the prior evaluation several new measurements have expanded our knowledge of A=41 nuclides. The half–life of the ground state of 41Si has been determined and a single excited state identified. Excited levels in 41P have beenmore » observed for the first time. In 41Cl, seven new excited states have been identified in deep inelastic and heavy ion transfer reactions. Half–lifes for four states in 41Ar have been updated and additional levels with gammas have been included from a new measurement using the multiple ion transfer reaction. In 41Ca via charge–exchange reaction measurements, several new excited states were observed. A number of new resonances in 41K have been identified via the (p, γ ) reaction. There remains a significant discrepancy in the half–life of the first excited state (980 keV) in 41K, with measurements differing by more than an order of magnitude. Transfer reactions suggest that this M1 transition should be l–forbidden, however, several measurements yield a lifetime which suggests a sizable M1 strength. Further measurements to resolve the current conflicts would be beneficial.« less

Surface hopping investigation of the relaxation dynamics in radical cations

DOE PAGES

Assmann, Mariana; Weinacht, Thomas; Matsika, Spiridoula

2016-01-19

Ionization processes can lead to the formation of radical cations with population in several ionic states. In this study, we examine the dynamics of three radical cations starting from an excited ionic state using trajectory surface hopping dynamics in combination with multiconfigurational electronic structure methods. The efficiency of relaxation to the ground state is examined in an effort to understand better whether fragmentation of cations is likely to occur directly on excited states or after relaxation to the ground state. The results on cyclohexadiene, hexatriene, and uracil indicate that relaxation to the ground ionic state is very fast in thesemore » systems, while fragmentation before relaxation is rare. Ultrafast relaxation is facilitated by the close proximity of electronic states and the presence of two- and three-state conical intersections. Furthermore, examining the properties of the systems in the Franck-Condon region can give some insight into the subsequent dynamics.« less

Lattice QCD and nucleon resonances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edwards, R. G.; Fiebig, H. R.; Fleming, G.; Richards, D. G.; LHP Collaboration

2004-06-01

Lattice calculations provide an ab initio means for the study of QCD. Recent progress at understanding the spectrum and structure of nucleons from lattice QCD studies is reviewed. Measurements of the masses of the lightest particles for the lowest spin values are described and related to predictions of the quark model. Measurements of the mass of the first radial excitation of the nucleon, the so-called Roper resonance, obtained using Bayesian statistical analyses, are detailed. The need to perform calculations at realistically light values of the pion mass is emphasised, and the exciting progress at attaining such masses is outlined. The talk concludes with future prospects, emphasising the importance of constructing a basis of interpolating operators that is sensitive to three-quark states, to multi-quark states, and to excited glue.

Spin-orbit-coupled Bose-Einstein condensates of rotating polar molecules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Y.; You, L.; Yi, S.

2018-05-01

An experimental proposal for realizing spin-orbit (SO) coupling of pseudospin 1 in the ground manifold 1Σ (υ =0 ) of (bosonic) bialkali polar molecules is presented. The three spin components are composed of the ground rotational state and two substates from the first excited rotational level. Using hyperfine resolved Raman processes through two select excited states resonantly coupled by a microwave, an effective coupling between the spin tensor and linear momentum is realized. The properties of Bose-Einstein condensates for such SO-coupled molecules exhibiting dipolar interactions are further explored. In addition to the SO-coupling-induced stripe structures, the singly and doubly quantized vortex phases are found to appear, implicating exciting opportunities for exploring novel quantum physics using SO-coupled rotating polar molecules with dipolar interactions.

Quantum Engineering of States in Heterostructure-based Detectors for Enhance Performance

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-05-26

excited carrier contribution in these heterostructure- based photodetectors has been reduced by using phonon-assisted transitions to design structures ...experimental investigations of nanostructure- based electronic and optoelectronic structures with the goal of facilitating major improvements in the performance...nanostructures. Quantum engineering of nano- structures is emphasized. Related quantum- based structures – including those with spontaneous polarizations are

Structure of C 14 and B 14 from the C 14 , 15 ( d , He 3 ) B 13 , 14 reactions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bedoor, S.; Wuosmaa, A. H.; Albers, M.

We have studied the C-14,C-15(d,He-3)B-13,B-14 proton-removing reactions in inverse kinematics. The (d,He-3) reaction probes the proton occupation of the target ground state, and also provides spectroscopic information about the final states in B-13,B-14. The experiments were performed using C-14,C-15 beams from the ATLAS accelerator at Argonne National Laboratory. The reaction products were analyzed with the HELIOS device. Angular distributions were obtained for transitions from both reactions. The C-14-beam data reveal transitions to excited states in B-13 that suggest configurations with protons outside the pi(0p(3/2)) orbital, and some possibility of proton cross-shell 0p-1s0d excitations, in the C-14 ground state. The C-15-beammore » data confirm the existence of a broad 2(-) excited state in B-14. The experimental data are compared to the results of shell-model calculations.« less

Disentangling Transient Charge Density and Metal–Ligand Covalency in Photoexcited Ferricyanide with Femtosecond Resonant Inelastic Soft X-ray Scattering

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jay, Raphael M.; Norell, Jesper; Eckert, Sebastian

Soft X-ray spectroscopies are ideal probes of the local valence electronic structure of photocatalytically active metal sites. Here, we apply the selectivity of time-resolved resonant inelastic X-ray scattering at the iron L-edge to the transient charge distribution of an optically excited charge-transfer state in aqueous ferricyanide. Through comparison to steady-state spectra and quantum chemical calculations, the coupled effects of valence-shell closing and ligand-hole creation are experimentally and theoretically disentangled and described in terms of orbital occupancy, metal–ligand covalency, and ligand field splitting, thereby extending established steady-state concepts to the excited-state domain. π-Back-donation is found to be mainly determined by themore » metal site occupation, whereas the ligand hole instead influences σ-donation. Here, our results demonstrate how ultrafast resonant inelastic X-ray scattering can help characterize local charge distributions around catalytic metal centers in short-lived charge-transfer excited states, as a step toward future rationalization and tailoring of photocatalytic capabilities of transition-metal complexes.« less

Experimental and theoretical investigations of H2O-Ar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vanfleteren, Thomas; Földes, Tomas; Herman, Michel; Liévin, Jacques; Loreau, Jérôme; Coudert, Laurent H.

2017-07-01

We have used continuous-wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy to record the spectrum of H2O A r in the 2OH excitation range of H2O . 24 sub-bands have been observed. Their rotational structure (Trot = 12 K) is analyzed and the lines are fitted separately for ortho and para species together with microwave and far infrared data from the literature, with a unitless standard deviation σ =0.98 and 1.31, respectively. Their vibrational analysis is supported by a theoretical input based on an intramolecular potential energy surface obtained through ab initio calculations and computation of the rotational energy of sub-states of the complex with the water monomer in excited vibrational states up to the first hexad. For the ground and (010) vibrational states, the theoretical results agree well with experimental energies and rotational constants in the literature. For the excited vibrational states of the first hexad, they guided the assignment of the observed sub-bands. The upper state vibrational predissociation lifetime is estimated to be 3 ns from observed spectral linewidths.

Metal Cluster Models for Heterogeneous Catalysis: A Matrix-Isolation Perspective.

PubMed

Hübner, Olaf; Himmel, Hans-Jörg

2018-02-19

Metal cluster models are of high relevance for establishing new mechanistic concepts for heterogeneous catalysis. The high reactivity and particular selectivity of metal clusters is caused by the wealth of low-lying electronically excited states that are often thermally populated. Thereby the metal clusters are flexible with regard to their electronic structure and can adjust their states to be appropriate for the reaction with a particular substrate. The matrix isolation technique is ideally suited for studying excited state reactivity. The low matrix temperatures (generally 4-40 K) of the noble gas matrix host guarantee that all clusters are in their electronic ground-state (with only a very few exceptions). Electronically excited states can then be selectively populated and their reactivity probed. Unfortunately, a systematic research in this direction has not been made up to date. The purpose of this review is to provide the grounds for a directed approach to understand cluster reactivity through matrix-isolation studies combined with quantum chemical calculations. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Disentangling Transient Charge Density and Metal–Ligand Covalency in Photoexcited Ferricyanide with Femtosecond Resonant Inelastic Soft X-ray Scattering

DOE PAGES

Jay, Raphael M.; Norell, Jesper; Eckert, Sebastian; ...

2018-06-11

Soft X-ray spectroscopies are ideal probes of the local valence electronic structure of photocatalytically active metal sites. Here, we apply the selectivity of time-resolved resonant inelastic X-ray scattering at the iron L-edge to the transient charge distribution of an optically excited charge-transfer state in aqueous ferricyanide. Through comparison to steady-state spectra and quantum chemical calculations, the coupled effects of valence-shell closing and ligand-hole creation are experimentally and theoretically disentangled and described in terms of orbital occupancy, metal–ligand covalency, and ligand field splitting, thereby extending established steady-state concepts to the excited-state domain. π-Back-donation is found to be mainly determined by themore » metal site occupation, whereas the ligand hole instead influences σ-donation. Here, our results demonstrate how ultrafast resonant inelastic X-ray scattering can help characterize local charge distributions around catalytic metal centers in short-lived charge-transfer excited states, as a step toward future rationalization and tailoring of photocatalytic capabilities of transition-metal complexes.« less

High-resolution study of Gamow-Teller excitations in the 42Ca(3He,t )42Sc reaction and the observation of a "low-energy super-Gamow-Teller state"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujita, Y.; Fujita, H.; Adachi, T.; Susoy, G.; Algora, A.; Bai, C. L.; Colò, G.; Csatlós, M.; Deaven, J. M.; Estevez-Aguado, E.; Guess, C. J.; Gulyás, J.; Hatanaka, K.; Hirota, K.; Honma, M.; Ishikawa, D.; Krasznahorkay, A.; Matsubara, H.; Meharchand, R.; Molina, F.; Nakada, H.; Okamura, H.; Ong, H. J.; Otsuka, T.; Perdikakis, G.; Rubio, B.; Sagawa, H.; Sarriguren, P.; Scholl, C.; Shimbara, Y.; Stephenson, E. J.; Suzuki, T.; Tamii, A.; Thies, J. H.; Yoshida, K.; Zegers, R. G. T.; Zenihiro, J.

2015-06-01

To study the Gamow-Teller (GT) transitions from the Tz=+1 nucleus 42Ca to the Tz=0 nucleus 42Sc, where Tz is the z component of isospin T , we performed a (p ,n )-type (3He,t ) charge-exchange reaction at 140 MeV/nucleon and scattering angles around 0∘. With an energy resolution of 29 keV, states excited by GT transitions (GT states) could be studied accurately. The reduced GT transition strengths B (GT) were derived up to the excitation energy of 13 MeV, assuming the proportionality between the cross sections at 0∘ and B (GT) values. The main part of the observed GT transition strength is concentrated in the lowest 0.611-MeV, Jπ=1+ GT state. All the other states at higher energies are weakly excited. Shell-model calculations could reproduce the gross feature of the experimental B (GT) distribution, and random-phase-approximation calculations including an attractive isoscalar interaction showed that the 0.611-MeV state has a collective nature. It was found that this state has all of the properties of a "low-energy super-Gamow-Teller state." It is expected that low-lying Jπ=1+ GT states have T =0 in the Tz=0 nucleus 42Sc. However, T =1 states are situated in a higher energy region. Assuming an isospin-analogous structure in A =42 isobars, analogous T =1 , 1+ states are also expected in 42Ca. Comparing the (3He 42,tCa) 42Sc and 42Ca(p ,p') spectra measured at 0∘, candidates for T =1 GT states could be found in the 10 -12 -MeV region of 42Sc. They were all weakly excited. The mass dependence of the GT strength distributions in Sc isotopes is also discussed.

Torsion-rotation-vibration effects in the ground and first excited states of methacrolein, a major atmospheric oxidation product of isoprene

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zakharenko, O.; Motiyenko, R. A.; Aviles Moreno, J.-R.

Methacrolein is a major oxidation product of isoprene emitted in the troposphere. New spectroscopy information is provided with the aim to allow unambiguous identification of this complex molecule, characterized by a large amplitude motion associated with the methyl top. State-of-the-art millimeter-wave spectroscopy experiments coupled to quantum chemical calculations have been performed. For the most stable s-trans conformer of atmospheric interest, the torsional and rotational structures have been characterized for the ground state, the first excited methyl torsional state (ν{sub 27}), and the first excited skeletal torsional state (ν{sub 26}). The inverse sequence of A and E tunneling sub-states as wellmore » as anomalous A-E splittings observed for the rotational lines of v{sub 26} = 1 state clearly indicates a coupling between methyl torsion and skeletal torsion. A comprehensive set of molecular parameters has been obtained. The far infrared spectrum of Durig et al. [Spectrochim. Acta, Part A 42, 89–103 (1986)] was reproduced, and a Fermi interaction between ν{sub 25} and 2ν{sub 27} was evidenced.« less

Resonance between a Prolate and a Superprolate Structure of the Er Nucleus.

PubMed

Pauling, L; Blethen, J

1974-07-01

Observed energy levels of (162)Er from the normal state J = 0 to the excited rotational state J = 18 correspond to values of the moment of inertia and rotational frequency that indicate that a pronounced change in structure occurs at about J = 14. It is shown that the observed values agree well with the values calculated on the assumption that there is resonance between a more stable prolate structure with a core of two spherons and a less stable superprolate structure with a core of three spherons in line.

Numerical calculations of energy, nucleus size and coulomb decay rate for ddμ* resonance states in the variational approach using new wavefunctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eskandari, M. R.; Gheisari, R.; Kashian, S.

2006-02-01

This paper provides a theoretical complement to the experimental measurement of the population of excited dμ(2s) and dμ(1s) atoms in a deuterium. The population of these atoms plays an important role in a muon catalyzed fusion cycle. Symmetric and non-symmetric muonic molecular ions have been predicted to form in excited states in collisions between excited muonic atoms and hydrogen molecules. One example is the ddμ*, which is a muonic deuterium-deuterium symmetric ion in excited state and is initially produced in the interaction of dμ(2s) atoms with deuterium nuclei. Our calculations interpret the experimental findings in terms of the so-called side-path model. This model essentially deals with the interaction mentioned above in which the ddμ* ion undergoes Coulomb de-excitation where the excitation energy is shared between a dμ(1s) atom and one deuterium. The structure of ddμ* is studied here using the numerical, variational method and the given wavefunctions. Few resonance energies for ddμ* molecular states are calculated below the 2s threshold. For more precise assessment of the reliability of the given wavefunctions, the nucleus sizes and Coulomb decay rates for the zeroth, first and second vibrational meta-stable states of the mentioned ion are also calculated. The obtained results are close to those previously reported. The advantage of the given method over previous methods is that the used wavefunction has only two terms, which simplifies the calculations with the same results as those from the complicated coupled rearrangement channel method with a Gaussian basis set. These energies are the base data required for size, formation and decay rate calculations of the ddμ* ion.

In-beam γ -ray spectroscopy of Mn 63

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baugher, T.; Gade, A.; Janssens, R. V. F.

2016-01-01

Background: Neutron-rich, even-mass chromium and iron isotopes approaching neutron number N = 40 have been important benchmarks in the development of shell-model effective interactions incorporating the effects of shell evolution in the exotic regime. Odd-mass manganese nuclei have received less attention, but provide important and complementary sensitivity to these interactions. Purpose: We report the observation of two new γ -ray transitions in 63 Mn , which establish the ( 9 / 2 - ) and ( 11 / 2 - ) levels on top of the previously known ( 7 / 2 - ) first-excited state. The lifetime for themore » ( 7 / 2 - ) and ( 9 / 2 - ) excited states were determined for the first time, while an upper limit could be established for the ( 11 / 2 - ) level. Method: Excited states in 63 Mn have been populated in inelastic scattering from a 9 Be target and in the fragmentation of 65 Fe . γ γ coincidence relationships were used to establish the decay level scheme. A Doppler line-shape analysis for the Doppler-broadened ( 7 / 2 - ) → 5 / 2 - , ( 9 / 2 - ) → ( 7 / 2 - ) , and ( 11 / 2 - ) → ( 9 / 2 - ) transitions was used to determine (limits for) the corresponding excited-state lifetimes. Results: The low-lying level scheme and the excited-state lifetimes were compared with large-scale shell-model calculations using different model spaces and effective interactions in order to isolate important aspects of shell evolution in this region of structural change. Conclusions: While the theoretical ( 7 / 2 - ) and ( 9 / 2 - ) excitation energies show little dependence on the model space, the calculated lifetime of the ( 7 / 2 - ) level and calculated energy of the ( 11 / 2 - ) level reveal the importance of including the neutron g 9 / 2 and d 5 / 2 orbitals in the model space. The LNPS effective shell-model interaction provides the best overall agreement with the new data.« less

Two Argonne scientists named 2012 AAAS fellows | Argonne National

Science.gov Websites

"contributions to understanding structural dynamics of molecular excited states with special . "I'm really interested in how molecules respond to light and how light could influence molecular is being honored for her "contributions to understanding structural dynamics of molecular

Magnetic moments, E3 transitions and the structure of high-spin core excited states in 211Rn

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poletti, A. R.; Dracoulis, G. D.; Byrne, A. P.; Stuchbery, A. E.; Poletti, S. J.; Gerl, J.; Lewis, P. M.

1985-05-01

The results of g-factor measurements of high-spin states in 211Rn are: Ex = 8856 + Δ' keV (Jπ = 63/2-), g = 0.626(7); 6101 + Δ' KeV (49/2+), 0.766(8); 5347 + Δ' KeV (43/2-), 0.74(2); 3927 + Δ KeV (35/2+), 1.017(12); 1578 + Δ KeV (17/2-), 0.912(9). These results together with measured E3 transition strengths and shell model calculations are used to assign configurations to the core excited states in 211Rn. Mixed configurations are required to explain the g-factors and enhanced E3 strengths simultaneously.

Simulation of femtosecond two-dimensional electronic spectra of conical intersections

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Krčmář, Jindřich; Gelin, Maxim F.; Domcke, Wolfgang

2015-08-21

We have simulated femtosecond two-dimensional (2D) electronic spectra for an excited-state conical intersection using the wave-function version of the equation-of-motion phase-matching approach. We show that 2D spectra at fixed values of the waiting time provide information on the structure of the vibronic eigenstates of the conical intersection, while the evolution of the spectra with the waiting time reveals predominantly ground-state wave-packet dynamics. The results show that 2D spectra of conical intersection systems differ significantly from those obtained for chromophores with well separated excited-state potential-energy surfaces. The spectral signatures which can be attributed to conical intersections are discussed.

Dark states and delocalization: Competing effects of quantum coherence on the efficiency of light harvesting systems.

PubMed

Hu, Zixuan; Engel, Gregory S; Alharbi, Fahhad H; Kais, Sabre

2018-02-14

Natural light harvesting systems exploit electronic coupling of identical chromophores to generate efficient and robust excitation transfer and conversion. Dark states created by strong coupling between chromophores in the antenna structure can significantly reduce radiative recombination and enhance energy conversion efficiency. Increasing the number of the chromophores increases the number of dark states and the associated enhanced energy conversion efficiency yet also delocalizes excitations away from the trapping center and reduces the energy conversion rate. Therefore, a competition between dark state protection and delocalization must be considered when designing the optimal size of a light harvesting system. In this study, we explore the two competing mechanisms in a chain-structured antenna and show that dark state protection is the dominant mechanism, with an intriguing dependence on the parity of the number of chromophores. This dependence is linked to the exciton distribution among eigenstates, which is strongly affected by the coupling strength between chromophores and the temperature. Combining these findings, we propose that increasing the coupling strength between the chromophores can significantly increase the power output of the light harvesting system.

Structure of Sn 107 studied through single-neutron knockout reactions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cerizza, G.; Ayres, A.; Jones, K. L.

2016-02-04

The neutron-deficient nucleus Sn-107 has been studied by using the one-neutron knockout reaction. By measuring the decay gamma rays and momentum distributions of reaction residues, the spins of the ground, 5/2 +, and first-excited, 7/2 +, states of Sn-107 have been assigned by comparisons to eikonal-model reaction calculations. We also observed limits on the inclusive and exclusive cross sections and transitions due to neutron removals from below the N = 50 closed shell have been observed. New excited states up to 5.5 MeV in Sn-107 have been identified.

Collective Excitations in Protein as a Measure of Balance Between its Softness and Rigidity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shrestha, Utsab R.; Bhowmik, Debsindhu; Van Delinder, Kurt W.

Here, we elucidate the protein activity from the perspective of protein softness and flexibility by studying the collective phonon-like excitations in a globular protein, human serum albumin (HSA), and taking advantage of the state-of-the-art inelastic X-ray scattering (IXS) technique. Such excitations demonstrate that the protein becomes softer upon thermal denaturation due to disruption of weak noncovalent bonds. On the other hand, no significant change in the local excitations is detected in ligand- (drugs) bound HSA compared to the ligand-free HSA. These results clearly suggest that the protein conformational flexibility and rigidity are balanced by the native protein structure for biologicalmore » activity.« less

The nature of the lower excited state of the special pair of bacterial photosynthetic reaction center of Rhodobacter Sphaeroides and the dynamics of primary charge separation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivashin, N. V.; Shchupak, E. E.

2016-08-01

Quantum-chemical calculations of the structure in the ground and lower singlet excited states and the vibrations (in the ground state) of special pair P of photosynthetic reaction center of purple bacteria (RCPb) Rhodobacter Sphaeroides, consisting of two bacteriochlorophyll molecules PA and PB, have been carried out. It is shown that excitation of the special pair is followed by fast relaxation dynamics, accompanied by the transformation of the initial P* state into the P A δ+ P B δ- state (δ ~ 0.5) with charge separation. This behavior is due to the presence of several nonplanar vibrations with participation of the acetyl group of macrocycle PB in the nuclear wave packet on the potential surface of the P* state; these vibrations facilitate destabilization of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) and highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of the macrocycle PA and formation of the P A δ+ P B δ- state. The structural transformations in the P* state are due to its linking character in the contact region of the acetyl group-containing pyrrole rings of PA and PB. The transition from the P* state to specifically the P A δ+ P B δ- state is related to the fact that the acetyl group PA is involved in the intermolecular hydrogen bond with amino acid residue HisL168; for this reason, this group and the pyrrole ring linked with it can hardly participate in structural transformations. The electronic matrix element H12 of the electron transfer from the special pair in the P A δ+ P B δ- state to a molecule of accessory bacteriochlorophyll BA greatly exceeds that for the transfer to BB. This circumstance and the fact that the P A δ+ P B δ- state is energetically more favorable than the P* state facilitate the preferred directionality of the electron transfer in RCPb Rhodobacter Sphaeroides with participation of the cofactors located in its subunit L.

Multisite constrained model of trans-4-(N,N-dimethylamino)-4'-nitrostilbene for structural elucidation of radiative and nonradiative excited states.

PubMed

Lin, Cheng-Kai; Wang, Yu-Fu; Cheng, Yuan-Chung; Yang, Jye-Shane

2013-04-18

A constrained model compound of trans-4-(N,N-dimethylamino)-4'-nitrostilbene (DNS), namely, compound DNS-B3 that is limited to torsions about the phenyl-nitro C-N bond and the central C═C bond, was prepared to investigate the structural nature of the radiative and nonradiative states of electronically excited DNS. The great similarities in solvent-dependent electronic spectra, fluorescence decay times, and quantum yields for fluorescence (Φf) and trans → cis photoisomerization (Φtc) between DNS and DNS-B3 indicate that the fluorescence is from a planar charge-transfer state and torsion of the nitro group is sufficient to account for the nonradiative decay of DNS. This conclusion is supported by TDDFT calculations on DNS-B3 in dichloromethane. The structure at the conical intersection for internal conversion is associated with not only a twisting but also a pyramidalization of the nitro group. The mechanism of the NO2 torsion is discussed in terms of the effects of solvent polarity, the substituents, and the volume demand. The differences and analogies of the NO2- vs amino-twisted intramolecular charge-transfer (TICT) state of trans-aminostilbenes are also discussed.

Role of Electron-Driven Proton-Transfer Processes in the Ultrafast Deactivation of Photoexcited Anionic 8-oxoGuanine-Adenine and 8-oxoGuanine-Cytosine Base Pairs.

PubMed

Wu, Xiuxiu; Karsili, Tolga N V; Domcke, Wolfgang

2017-01-14

It has been reported that 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-guanosine (8-oxo-G), which is the main product of oxidative damage of DNA, can repair cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD) lesions when incorporated into DNA or RNA strands in proximity to such lesions. It has therefore been suggested that the 8-oxo-G nucleoside may have been a primordial precursor of present-day flavins in DNA or RNA repair. Because the electron transfer leading to the splitting of a thymine-thymine pair in a CPD lesion occurs in the photoexcited state, a reasonably long excited-state lifetime of 8-oxo-G is required. The neutral (protonated) form of 8-oxo-G exhibits a very short (sub-picosecond) intrinsic excited-state lifetime which is unfavorable for repair. It has therefore been argued that the anionic (deprotonated) form of 8-oxo-G, which exhibits a much longer excited-state lifetime, is more likely to be a suitable cofactor for DNA repair. Herein, we have investigated the exited-state quenching mechanisms in the hydrogen-bonded complexes of deprotonated 8-oxo-G - with adenine (A) and cytosine (C) using ab initio wave-function-based electronic-structure calculations. The calculated reaction paths and potential-energy profiles reveal the existence of barrierless electron-driven inter-base proton-transfer reactions which lead to low-lying S₁/S₀ conical intersections. The latter can promote ultrafast excited-state deactivation of the anionic base pairs. While the isolated deprotonated 8-oxo-G - nucleoside may have been an efficient primordial repair cofactor, the excited states of the 8-oxo-G - -A and 8-oxo-G - -C base pairs are likely too short-lived to be efficient electron-transfer repair agents.

Theoretical Insights into the Origin of Photoluminescence of Au 25(SR) 18 – Nanoparticles

DOE PAGES

Weerawardene, K. L. Dimuthu M.; Aikens, Christine M.

2016-08-15

Understanding fundamental behavior of luminescent nanomaterials upon photoexcitation is necessary to expand photocatalytic and biological imaging applications. Despite the significant amount of experimental work into the luminescence of Au 25(SR) 18 – clusters, the origin of photoluminescence in these clusters still remains unclear. In this study, the geometric and electronic structural changes of the Au 25(SR) 18 – (R = H, CH 3, CH 2CH 3, CH 2CH 2CH 3) nanoclusters upon photoexcitation are discussed using time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) methods. Geometric relaxations in the optimized excited states of up to 0.33 Å impart remarkable effects on the energymore » levels of the frontier orbitals of Au 25(SR) 18 – nanoclusters. This gives rise to a Stokes shift of 0.49 eV for Au 25(SH) 18 – in agreement with experiments. Even larger Stokes shifts are predicted for longer ligands. Vibrational frequencies in the 75–80 cm –1 range are calculated for the nuclear motion involved in the excited-state nuclear relaxation; this value is in excellent agreement with vibrational beating observed in time-resolved spectroscopy experiments. Several excited states around 0.8, 1.15, and 1.25 eV are calculated for the Au 25(SH) 18 – nanocluster. Considering the typical underestimation of DFT excitation energies, these states are likely responsible for the emission observed experimentally in the 1.15–1.55 eV range. In conclusion, all excited states arise from core-based orbitals; charge-transfer states or other “semi-ring” or ligand-based states are not implicated.« less

Theoretical Insights into the Origin of Photoluminescence of Au 25(SR) 18 – Nanoparticles

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Weerawardene, K. L. Dimuthu M.; Aikens, Christine M.

Understanding fundamental behavior of luminescent nanomaterials upon photoexcitation is necessary to expand photocatalytic and biological imaging applications. Despite the significant amount of experimental work into the luminescence of Au 25(SR) 18 – clusters, the origin of photoluminescence in these clusters still remains unclear. In this study, the geometric and electronic structural changes of the Au 25(SR) 18 – (R = H, CH 3, CH 2CH 3, CH 2CH 2CH 3) nanoclusters upon photoexcitation are discussed using time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) methods. Geometric relaxations in the optimized excited states of up to 0.33 Å impart remarkable effects on the energymore » levels of the frontier orbitals of Au 25(SR) 18 – nanoclusters. This gives rise to a Stokes shift of 0.49 eV for Au 25(SH) 18 – in agreement with experiments. Even larger Stokes shifts are predicted for longer ligands. Vibrational frequencies in the 75–80 cm –1 range are calculated for the nuclear motion involved in the excited-state nuclear relaxation; this value is in excellent agreement with vibrational beating observed in time-resolved spectroscopy experiments. Several excited states around 0.8, 1.15, and 1.25 eV are calculated for the Au 25(SH) 18 – nanocluster. Considering the typical underestimation of DFT excitation energies, these states are likely responsible for the emission observed experimentally in the 1.15–1.55 eV range. In conclusion, all excited states arise from core-based orbitals; charge-transfer states or other “semi-ring” or ligand-based states are not implicated.« less

On the elimination of the electronic structure bottleneck in on the fly nonadiabatic dynamics for small to moderate sized (10-15 atom) molecules using fit diabatic representations based solely on ab initio electronic structure data: The photodissociation of phenol

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhu, Xiaolei, E-mail: virtualzx@gmail.com; Yarkony, David R., E-mail: yarkony@jhu.edu

2016-01-14

In this work, we demonstrate that for moderate sized systems, here a system with 13 atoms, global coupled potential energy surfaces defined for several electronic states over a wide energy range and for distinct regions of nuclear coordinate space characterized by distinct electron configurations, can be constructed with precise energetics and an excellent description of non-adiabatic interactions in all regions. This is accomplished using a recently reported algorithm for constructing quasi-diabatic representations, H{sup d}, of adiabatic electronic states coupled by conical intersections. In this work, the algorithm is used to construct an H{sup d} to describe the photodissociation of phenolmore » from its first and second excited electronic states. The representation treats all 33 internal degrees of freedom in an even handed manner. The ab initio adiabatic electronic structure data used to construct the fit are obtained exclusively from multireference configuration interaction with single and double excitation wave functions comprised of 88 × 10{sup 6} configuration state functions, at geometries determined by quasi-classical trajectories. Since the algorithm uses energy gradients and derivative couplings in addition to electronic energies to construct H{sup d}, data at only 7379 nuclear configurations are required to construct a representation, which describes all nuclear configurations involved in H atom photodissociation to produce the phenoxyl radical in its ground or first excited electronic state, with a mean unsigned energy error of 202.9 cm{sup −1} for electronic energies <60 000 cm{sup −1}.« less

Structure-relaxation mechanism for the response of T4 lysozyme cavity mutants to hydrostatic pressure

PubMed Central

Lerch, Michael T.; López, Carlos J.; Yang, Zhongyu; Kreitman, Margaux J.; Horwitz, Joseph; Hubbell, Wayne L.

2015-01-01

Application of hydrostatic pressure shifts protein conformational equilibria in a direction to reduce the volume of the system. A current view is that the volume reduction is dominated by elimination of voids or cavities in the protein interior via cavity hydration, although an alternative mechanism wherein cavities are filled with protein side chains resulting from a structure relaxation has been suggested [López CJ, Yang Z, Altenbach C, Hubbell WL (2013) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 110(46):E4306–E4315]. In the present study, mechanisms for elimination of cavities under high pressure are investigated in the L99A cavity mutant of T4 lysozyme and derivatives thereof using site-directed spin labeling, pressure-resolved double electron–electron resonance, and high-pressure circular dichroism spectroscopy. In the L99A mutant, the ground state is in equilibrium with an excited state of only ∼3% of the population in which the cavity is filled by a protein side chain [Bouvignies et al. (2011) Nature 477(7362):111–114]. The results of the present study show that in L99A the native ground state is the dominant conformation to pressures of 3 kbar, with cavity hydration apparently taking place in the range of 2–3 kbar. However, in the presence of additional mutations that lower the free energy of the excited state, pressure strongly populates the excited state, thereby eliminating the cavity with a native side chain rather than solvent. Thus, both cavity hydration and structure relaxation are mechanisms for cavity elimination under pressure, and which is dominant is determined by details of the energy landscape. PMID:25918400

Effective Collision Strengths for Fine-structure Transitions in Si VII

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sossah, A. M.; Tayal, S. S.

2014-05-01

The effective collision strengths for electron-impact excitation of fine-structure transitions in Si VII are calculated as a function of electron temperature in the range 5000-2,000,000 K. The B-spline Breit-Pauli R-matrix method has been used to calculate collision strengths by electron impact. The target wave functions have been obtained using the multi-configuration Hartree-Fock method with term-dependent non-orthogonal orbitals. The 92 fine-structure levels belonging to the 46 LS states of 2s 22p 4, 2s2p 5, 2p 6, 2s 22p 33s, 2s 22p 33p, 2s 22p 33d, and 2s2p 43s configurations are included in our calculations of oscillator strengths and collision strengths. There are 4186 possible fine-structure allowed and forbidden transitions among the 92 levels. The present excitation energies, oscillator strengths, and collision strengths have been compared with previous theoretical results and available experimental data. Generally, a good agreement is found with the 6 LS-state close-coupling approximation results of Butler & Zeippen and the 44 LS-state distorted wave calculation of Bhatia & Landi.

Probing microhydration effect on the electronic structure of the GFP chromophore anion. Photoelectron spectroscopy and theoretical investigations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bhaskaran-Nair, Kiran; Valiev, Marat; Deng, Shihu

2015-12-14

The photophysics of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) chromophore is critically dependent on its local structure and on its environment. Despite extensive experimental and computational studies, there remain many open questions regarding the key fundamental variables that govern this process. One outstanding problem is the role of autoionization as a possible relaxation pathway of the excited state under different environmental conditions. This issue is considered in our work through combined experimental and theoretical studies of microsolvated clusters of the deprotonated p-hydroxybenzylidene-2,3-dimethylimidazolinone anion (HBDI⁻), an analog of GFP chromophore. Through selective generation of microsolvated structures of predetermined size and subsequent analysis ofmore » experimental photoelectron spectra by high level ab-initio methods we are able to precisely identify the structure of the system, establish the accuracy of theoretical data, and provide reliable description of auto-ionization process as a function of hydrogen-bonding environment. Our study clearly illustrates the first few water molecules progressively stabilize the excited state of the chromophore anion against the autodetached neutral state, which should be an important trait for crystallographic water molecules in GFPs that has not been fully explored to date.« less

Probing microhydration effect on the electronic structure of the GFP chromophore anion: Photoelectron spectroscopy and theoretical investigations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bhaskaran-Nair, Kiran; Shelton, William A.; Center for Computation and Technology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803

2015-12-14

The photophysics of the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) chromophore is critically dependent on its local structure and on its environment. Despite extensive experimental and computational studies, there remain many open questions regarding the key fundamental variables that govern this process. One outstanding problem is the role of autoionization as a possible relaxation pathway of the excited state under different environmental conditions. This issue is considered in our work through combined experimental and theoretical studies of microsolvated clusters of the deprotonated p-hydroxybenzylidene-2,3-dimethylimidazolinone anion (HBDI{sup −}), an analog of the GFP chromophore. Through selective generation of microsolvated structures of predetermined size andmore » subsequent analysis of experimental photoelectron spectra by high level ab initio methods, we are able to precisely identify the structure of the system, establish the accuracy of theoretical data, and provide reliable description of auto-ionization process as a function of hydrogen-bonding environment. Our study clearly illustrates the first few water molecules progressively stabilize the excited state of the chromophore anion against the autodetached neutral state, which should be an important trait for crystallographic water molecules in GFPs that has not been fully explored to date.« less

Fusion basis for lattice gauge theory and loop quantum gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delcamp, Clement; Dittrich, Bianca; Riello, Aldo

2017-02-01

We introduce a new basis for the gauge-invariant Hilbert space of lattice gauge theory and loop quantum gravity in (2 + 1) dimensions, the fusion basis. In doing so, we shift the focus from the original lattice (or spin-network) structure directly to that of the magnetic (curvature) and electric (torsion) excitations themselves. These excitations are classified by the irreducible representations of the Drinfel'd double of the gauge group, and can be readily "fused" together by studying the tensor product of such representations. We will also describe in detail the ribbon operators that create and measure these excitations and make the quasi-local structure of the observable algebra explicit. Since the fusion basis allows for both magnetic and electric excitations from the onset, it turns out to be a precious tool for studying the large scale structure and coarse-graining flow of lattice gauge theories and loop quantum gravity. This is in neat contrast with the widely used spin-network basis, in which it is much more complicated to account for electric excitations, i.e. for Gauß constraint violations, emerging at larger scales. Moreover, since the fusion basis comes equipped with a hierarchical structure, it readily provides the language to design states with sophisticated multi-scale structures. Another way to employ this hierarchical structure is to encode a notion of subsystems for lattice gauge theories and (2 + 1) gravity coupled to point particles. In a follow-up work, we have exploited this notion to provide a new definition of entanglement entropy for these theories.

Roton Excitations and the Fluid-Solid Phase Transition in Superfluid 2D Yukawa Bosons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Molinelli, S.; Galli, D. E.; Reatto, L.; Motta, M.

2016-10-01

We compute several ground-state properties and the dynamical structure factor of a zero-temperature system of Bosons interacting with the 2D screened Coulomb (2D-SC) potential. We resort to the exact shadow path integral ground state (SPIGS) quantum Monte Carlo method to compute the imaginary-time correlation function of the model, and to the genetic algorithm via falsification of theories (GIFT) to retrieve the dynamical structure factor. We provide a detailed comparison of ground-state properties and collective excitations of 2D-SC and ^4He atoms. The roton energy of the 2D-SC system is an increasing function of density, and not a decreasing one as in ^4He. This result is in contrast with the view that the roton is the soft mode of the fluid-solid transition. We uncover a remarkable quasi-universality of backflow and of other properties when expressed in terms of the amount of short-range order as quantified by the height of the first peak of the static structure factor.

Core excitation effects on oscillator strengths for transitions in four electron atomic systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, T. N.; Luo, Yuxiang

2007-06-01

By including explicitly the electronic configurations with two and three simultaneously excited electronic orbital, we have extended the BSCI (B-spline based configuration interaction) method [1] to estimate directly the effect of inner shell core excitation to oscillator strengths for transitions in four-electron atomic systems. We will present explicitly the change in oscillator strengths due to core excitations, especially for transitions involving doubly excited states and those with very small oscillator strengths. The length and velocity results are typically in agreement better than 1% or less. [1] Tu-nan Chang, in Many-body Theory of Atomic Structure and Photoionization, edited by T. N. Chang (World Scientific, Singapore, 1993), p. 213-47; and T. N. Chang and T. K. Fang, Elsevier Radiation Physics and Chemistry 70, 173-190 (2004).

Photoluminescence varied by selective excitation in BiGdWO6:Eu3+ phosphor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pavani, K.; Graça, M. P. F.; Kumar, J. Suresh; Neves, A. J.

2017-12-01

Eu3+ doped bismuth gadolinium tungstate (BGW), a simplest member of Aurivillius family of layered perovskites, was synthesized by solid-state reaction method. Structural characterisation has been performed by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Band gap of the host matrix has been calculated using reflectance and absorption spectra. Three different mechanisms were found to explain the excitation of Eu3+ ions and are described in detail. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the BGW phosphor doped with Eu3+ ions consist of major emission lines associated with 5D0 → 7FJ (J = 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4) of Eu3+ ion. Site selective PL excitation and emission indicates that Eu3+ ions doped in BiGdWO6 are sensitive to the excitation wavelength without change in the structure. Change in emission spectra were observed when the excitation wavelength was changed. Judd-Ofelt (J-O) parameters were determined from the indirect method to interpret the interactions between the host and dopant ions along with detailed analysis of lifetime measurements.

Relativistic atomic structure calculations and electron impact excitations of Fe23+

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El-Maaref, A. A.

2016-02-01

Relativistic calculations using the multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock method for energy levels, oscillator strengths, and electronic dipole transition probabilities of Li-like iron (Fe23+) are presented. A configuration state list with the quantum numbers nl, where n = 2 - 7 and l = s , p , d , f , g , h , i has been considered. Excitations up to three electrons and correlation contributions from higher orbitals up to 7 l have been included. Contributions from core levels have been taken into account, EOL (extended optimal level) type calculations have been applied, and doubly excited levels are considered. The calculations have been executed by using the fully relativistic atomic structure package GRASP2K. The present calculations have been compared with the available experimental and theoretical sources, the comparisons show a good agreement between the present results of energy levels and oscillator strengths with the literature. In the second part of the present study, the atomic data (energy levels, and radiative parameters) have been used to calculate the excitation and deexcitation rates of allowed transitions by electron impact, as well as the population densities of some excited levels at different electron temperatures.

N* Experiments and Their Impact on Strong QCD Physics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Burkert, Volker D.

Here, I give a brief overview of experimental studies of the spectrum and the structure of the excited states of the nucleon and what we learn about their internal structure. The focus is on the effort to obtain a more complete picture of the light-quark baryon excitation spectrum employing electromagnetic beams, and on the study of the transition form factors and helicity amplitudes and their dependence on the size of the four-momentum transfer $Q^2$, especially on some of the most prominent resonances. These were obtained in pion and eta electroproduction experiments off proton targets.

N^* Experiments and Their Impact on Strong QCD Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burkert, Volker D.

2018-07-01

I give a brief report on experimental studies of the spectrum and the structure of the excited states of the nucleon and what we learn about their internal structure. The focus is on the effort to obtain a more complete picture of the light-quark baryon excitation spectrum employing electromagnetic beams, and on the study of the transition form factors and helicity amplitudes an their dependence on the size of the four-momentum transfer Q^2, especially on some of the most prominent resonances. These were obtained in pion and eta electroproduction experiments off proton targets.

Core structure of two-dimensional Fermi gas vortices in the BEC-BCS crossover region

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Madeira, Lucas; Gandolfi, Stefano; Schmidt, Kevin E.

2017-05-02

We report T = 0 diffusion Monte Carlo results for the ground-state and vortex excitation of unpolarized spin-1/2 fermions in a two-dimensional disk. We investigate how vortex core structure properties behave over the BEC-BCS crossover. We calculate the vortex excitation energy, density pro les, and vortex core properties related to the current. We nd a density suppression at the vortex core on the BCS side of the crossover and a depleted core on the BEC limit. Size-effect dependencies in the disk geometry were carefully studied.

N* Experiments and Their Impact on Strong QCD Physics

DOE PAGES

Burkert, Volker D.

2018-04-23

Here, I give a brief overview of experimental studies of the spectrum and the structure of the excited states of the nucleon and what we learn about their internal structure. The focus is on the effort to obtain a more complete picture of the light-quark baryon excitation spectrum employing electromagnetic beams, and on the study of the transition form factors and helicity amplitudes and their dependence on the size of the four-momentum transfer $Q^2$, especially on some of the most prominent resonances. These were obtained in pion and eta electroproduction experiments off proton targets.

Photophysical and quantum chemical study on a J-aggregate forming perylene bisimide monomer.

PubMed

Ambrosek, David; Marciniak, Henning; Lochbrunner, Stefan; Tatchen, Jörg; Li, Xue-Qing; Würthner, Frank; Kühn, Oliver

2011-10-21

Perylene bisimides (PBIs) are excellent dyes and versatile building blocks for supramolecular structures. Only recently have PBIs been shown to depict absorption characteristics of J-aggregates. We apply electronic structure calculations and femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy to the monomeric, bay-substituted building-block of a PBI aggregate in dichloromethane to investigate its electronically excited states in order to provide the ingredients for the description of excitons in the aggregates and their annihilation processes. The PBI S(1)←S(0) absorption spectrum and the S(1)→S(0) emission spectrum have been assigned based on time-dependent Density Functional Theory calculations for the geometry-optimized electronic ground state and excited state structures in the gas phase. The monomeric absorption spectrum contains a strong transition at 580 nm and a broad shoulder between 575-500 nm, both features are attributed to a vibrational progression with an effective vibrational mode of 1415 cm(-1) whose major contributing vibrational normal modes are breathing modes of the perylene body. The effective vibrational mode of the emission spectrum is characterized by a frequency of 1369 cm(-1), whose major contributing vibrational normal modes are characterized by perylene and phenol (bay-substituent) CH bendings. The S(n)←S(1) excited state absorption spectrum is assigned based on Multi-Reference Configuration Interaction methodology. Here, we identify three transitions which give rise to two broad experimental features, one being located between 500 and 600 nm and the other one ranging from 650 to 750 nm. This journal is © the Owner Societies 2011

Spectral and time-resolved studies on ocular structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schweitzer, D.; Jentsch, S.; Schenke, S.; Hammer, M.; Biskup, C.; Gaillard, E.

2007-07-01

Measurements of endogeous fluorophores open the possibility for evaluation of metabolic state at the eye. For interpretation of 2-dimensional measurements of time-resolved auto fluorescence in 2 separate spectral ranges at the human eye, comparing measurements were performed on porcine eyes. Determining excitation and emission spectra, attention was drawn of proof of coenzymes NADH and FAD in isolated anatomical structures cornea, aqueous humor, lens, vitreous, neuronal retina, retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), choroid, and sclera. All these structures exhibit auto fluorescence, highest in lens. Excitation at 350 nm results in local fluorescence maxima at 460 nm, corresponding to NADH, in all structures. This short-wave excitation allows metabolic studies only at the anterior eye, because of the limited transmission of the ocular media. During excitation at 446 nm the existence of FAD is expressed by local fluorescence maxima at 530 nm. The composition fluorescence spectra allow no discrimination between single ocular structures. Approximating the dynamic fluorescence by a double exponential function, the shortest lifetimes were detected in RPE and neuronal retina. The histograms of mean lifetime t M cover each other on lens with cornea and also on sclera with choroid. Despite the lifetimes are close between RPE and neuronal retina, the relative contributions Q I are wide different. The gradient of trend lines in cluster diagrams of amplitudes α II vs. α I allows a discrimination of ocular structures.

Spectroscopic and time-dependent density functional theory investigation of the photophysical properties of zearalenone and its analogs

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Structures of the mycotoxin zearalenone and its analogs were investigated using density functional theory methods to gain insight into the ground state and excited state properties related to detection. Zearalenone is an estrogenic mycotoxin that can occur in agricultural commodities, and ultraviole...

Singly and Doubly Excited States of the D-Dimensional Helium Atom(Supported by DOD-ONR N00014-94-1-0998)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carzoli, J.; Dunn, M.; Watson, D. K.

1998-05-01

Large order dimensional perturbation theory (DPT) has been used to study the ground and a number of excited states of two-electron atoms for the case L=0. Here we present the first application of recent work generalizing DPT to higher angular momentum.(M. Dunn, D.K. Watson, Ann. Phys. 251 (1996) 266)^,(M. Dunn, D.K. Watson, The Large Dimension Limit of Higher Angular Momentum States. Phys. Rev. A. (accepted for publication)) In this work we begin the investigation of P^o states, presenting results for the energies of some of the lowest lying states and discuss the analytic structure of these energies as functions of 1/D. We also obtain energies of corresponding D^o states with almost no additional effort by making use of interdimensional degeneracies with the P^o states.

Structure and energetics of InN and GaN dimers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Šimová, Lucia; Tzeli, Demeter; Urban, Miroslav; Černušák, Ivan; Theodorakopoulos, Giannoula; Petsalakis, Ioannis D.

2008-06-01

Large-scale mapping of various dimers of indium nitride and gallium nitride in singlet and triplet electronic states is reported. Second-order perturbation theory with Møller-Plesset partitioning of the Hamiltonian (MP2) and coupled-cluster with single and double excitations corrected for the triple excitations (CCSD(T)) are used for the geometry determinations and evaluation of excitation and dissociation energies. For gallium and nitrogen we have used the singly augmented correlation-consistent triple-zeta basis set (aug-cc-pVTZ), for indium we have used the aug-cc-pVTZ-pseudopotential basis set. The dissociation energies are corrected for basis set superposition error (BBSE) including geometrical relaxation of the monomers. We compare and discuss the similarities and dissimilarities in the structural patterns and energetics of both groups of isomers, including the effect of the BSSE. Our computations show that there are not only different ground states for In 2N 2 and Ga 2N 2 but also different numbers of stable stationary points on their potential energy surface. We compare our results with the molecular data published so far for these systems.

Photoresponse of 60Ni below 10-MeV excitation energy: Evolution of dipole resonances in fp-shell nuclei near N=Z

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scheck, M.; Ponomarev, V. Yu.; Fritzsche, M.; Joubert, J.; Aumann, T.; Beller, J.; Isaak, J.; Kelley, J. H.; Kwan, E.; Pietralla, N.; Raut, R.; Romig, C.; Rusev, G.; Savran, D.; Schorrenberger, L.; Sonnabend, K.; Tonchev, A. P.; Tornow, W.; Weller, H. R.; Zilges, A.; Zweidinger, M.

2013-10-01

Background: Within the last decade, below the giant dipole resonance the existence of a concentration of additional electric dipole strength has been established. This accumulation of low-lying E1 strength is commonly referred to as pygmy dipole resonance (PDR).Purpose: The photoresponse of 60Ni has been investigated experimentally and theoretically to test the evolution of the PDR in a nucleus with only a small neutron excess. Furthermore, the isoscalar and isovector M1 resonances were investigated.Method: Spin-1 states were excited by exploiting the (γ,γ') nuclear resonance fluorescence technique with unpolarized continuous bremsstrahlung as well as with fully linearly polarized, quasimonochromatic, Compton-backscattered laser photons in the entrance channel of the reaction.Results: Up to 10 MeV a detailed picture of J=1 levels was obtained. For the preponderant number of the individual levels spin and parity were firmly assigned. Furthermore, branching ratios, transition widths, and reduced B(E1) or B(M1) excitation probability were calculated from the measured scattering cross sections. A comparison with theoretical results obtained within the quasiparticle phonon model allows an insight into the microscopic structure of the observed states.Conclusions: Below 10 MeV the directly observed E1 strength [∑B(E1)↑=(153.8±9.5) e2(fm)2] exhausts 0.5% of the Thomas-Reiche-Kuhn sum rule. This value increases to 0.8% of the sum rule [∑B(E1)↑=(250.9±31.1) e2(fm)2] when indirectly observed branches to lower-lying levels are considered. Two accumulations of M1 excited spin-1 states near 8 and 9 MeV excitation energy are identified as isoscalar and isovector M1 resonances dominated by proton and neutron f7/2→f5/2 spin-flip excitations. The B(M1)↑ strength of these structures accumulates to 3.94(27)μN2.

Decay of quadrupole-octupole 1- states in 40Ca and 140Ce

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Derya, V.; Tsoneva, N.; Aumann, T.; Bhike, M.; Endres, J.; Gooden, M.; Hennig, A.; Isaak, J.; Lenske, H.; Löher, B.; Pietralla, N.; Savran, D.; Tornow, W.; Werner, V.; Zilges, A.

2016-03-01

Background: Two-phonon excitations originating from the coupling of two collective one-phonon states are of great interest in nuclear structure physics. One possibility to generate low-lying E 1 excitations is the coupling of quadrupole and octupole phonons. Purpose: In this work, the γ -decay behavior of candidates for the (21+⊗31-)1- state in the doubly magic nucleus 40Ca and in the heavier and semimagic nucleus 140Ce is investigated. Methods: (γ ⃗,γ') experiments have been carried out at the High Intensity γ -ray Source (HI γ S ) facility in combination with the high-efficiency γ -ray spectroscopy setup γ3 consisting of HPGe and LaBr3 detectors. The setup enables the acquisition of γ -γ coincidence data and, hence, the detection of direct decay paths. Results: In addition to the known ground-state decays, for 40Ca the decay into the 31- state was observed, while for 140Ce the direct decays into the 21+ and the 02+ state were detected. The experimentally deduced transition strengths and excitation energies are compared to theoretical calculations in the framework of EDF theory plus QPM approach and systematically analyzed for N =82 isotones. In addition, negative parities for two J =1 states in 44Ca were deduced simultaneously. Conclusions: The experimental findings together with the theoretical calculations support the two-phonon character of the 11- excitation in the light-to-medium-mass nucleus 40Ca as well as in the stable even-even N =82 nuclei.

Inelastic losses in X-ray absorption theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, Luke Whalin

There is a surprising lack of many body effects observed in XAS (X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy) experiments. While collective excitations and other satellite effects account for between 20% and 40% of the spectral weight of the core hole and photoelectron excitation spectrum, the only commonly observed many body effect is a relatively structureless amplitude reduction to the fine structure, typically no more than a 10% effect. As a result, many particle effects are typically neglected in the XAS codes used to predict and interpret modern experiments. To compensate, the amplitude reduction factor is simply fitted to experimental data. In this work, a quasi-boson model is developed to treat the case of XAS, when the system has both a photoelectron and a core hole. We find that there is a strong interference between the extrinsic and intrinsic losses. The interference reduces the excitation amplitudes at low energies where the core hole and photo electron induced excitations tend to cancel. At high energies, the interference vanishes, and the theory reduces to the sudden approximation. The x-ray absorption spectrum including many-body excitations is represented by a convolution of the one-electron absorption spectrum with an energy dependent spectral function. The latter has an asymmetric quasiparticle peak and broad satellite structure. The net result is a phasor sum, which yields the many body amplitude reduction and phase shift of the fine structure oscillations (EXAFS), and possibly additional satellite structure. Calculations for several cases of interest are found to be in reasonable agreement with experiment. Edge singularity effects and deviations from the final state rule arising from this theory are also discussed. The ab initio XAS code FEFF has been extended for calculations of the many body amplitude reduction and phase shift in x-ray spectroscopies. A new broadened plasmon pole self energy is added. The dipole matrix elements are modified to include a projection operator to calculate deviations from the final state rule and edge singularities.

Roles of antinucleon degrees of freedom in the relativistic random phase approximation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurasawa, Haruki; Suzuki, Toshio

2015-11-01

The roles of antinucleon degrees of freedom in the relativistic random phase approximation (RPA) are investigated. The energy-weighted sum of the RPA transition strengths is expressed in terms of the double commutator between the excitation operator and the Hamiltonian, as in nonrelativistic models. The commutator, however, should not be calculated in the usual way in the local field theory, because, otherwise, the sum vanishes. The sum value obtained correctly from the commutator is infinite, owing to the Dirac sea. Most of the previous calculations take into account only some of the nucleon-antinucleon states, in order to avoid divergence problems. As a result, RPA states with negative excitation energy appear, which make the sum value vanish. Moreover, disregarding the divergence changes the sign of nuclear interactions in the RPA equation that describes the coupling of the nucleon particle-hole states with the nucleon-antinucleon states. Indeed, the excitation energies of the spurious state and giant monopole states in the no-sea approximation are dominated by these unphysical changes. The baryon current conservation can be described without touching the divergence problems. A schematic model with separable interactions is presented, which makes the structure of the relativistic RPA transparent.

A combined photoelectron spectroscopy and relativistic ab initio studies of the electronic structures of UFO and UFO(-).

PubMed

Roy, Soumendra K; Jian, Tian; Lopez, Gary V; Li, Wei-Li; Su, Jing; Bross, David H; Peterson, Kirk A; Wang, Lai-Sheng; Li, Jun

2016-02-28

The observation of the gaseous UFO(-) anion is reported, which is investigated using photoelectron spectroscopy and relativisitic ab initio calculations. Two strong photoelectron bands are observed at low binding energies due to electron detachment from the U-7sσ orbital. Numerous weak detachment bands are also observed due to the strongly correlated U-5f electrons. The electron affinity of UFO is measured to be 1.27(3) eV. High-level relativistic quantum chemical calculations have been carried out on the ground state and many low-lying excited states of UFO to help interpret the photoelectron spectra and understand the electronic structure of UFO. The ground state of UFO(-) is linear with an O-U-F structure and a (3)H4 spectral term derived from a U 7sσ(2)5fφ(1)5fδ(1) electron configuration, whereas the ground state of neutral UFO has a (4)H(7/2) spectral term with a U 7sσ(1)5fφ(1)5fδ(1) electron configuration. Strong electron correlation effects are found in both the anionic and neutral electronic configurations. In the UFO neutral, a high density of electronic states with strong configuration mixing is observed in most of the scalar relativistic and spin-orbit coupled states. The strong electron correlation, state mixing, and spin-orbit coupling of the electronic states make the excited states of UFO very challenging for accurate quantum chemical calculations.

A combined photoelectron spectroscopy and relativistic ab initio studies of the electronic structures of UFO and UFO-

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roy, Soumendra K.; Jian, Tian; Lopez, Gary V.; Li, Wei-Li; Su, Jing; Bross, David H.; Peterson, Kirk A.; Wang, Lai-Sheng; Li, Jun

2016-02-01

The observation of the gaseous UFO- anion is reported, which is investigated using photoelectron spectroscopy and relativisitic ab initio calculations. Two strong photoelectron bands are observed at low binding energies due to electron detachment from the U-7sσ orbital. Numerous weak detachment bands are also observed due to the strongly correlated U-5f electrons. The electron affinity of UFO is measured to be 1.27(3) eV. High-level relativistic quantum chemical calculations have been carried out on the ground state and many low-lying excited states of UFO to help interpret the photoelectron spectra and understand the electronic structure of UFO. The ground state of UFO- is linear with an O-U-F structure and a 3H4 spectral term derived from a U 7sσ25fφ15fδ1 electron configuration, whereas the ground state of neutral UFO has a 4H7/2 spectral term with a U 7sσ15fφ15fδ1 electron configuration. Strong electron correlation effects are found in both the anionic and neutral electronic configurations. In the UFO neutral, a high density of electronic states with strong configuration mixing is observed in most of the scalar relativistic and spin-orbit coupled states. The strong electron correlation, state mixing, and spin-orbit coupling of the electronic states make the excited states of UFO very challenging for accurate quantum chemical calculations.

X-ray spectroscopy studies of nonradiative energy transfer processes in luminescent lanthanide materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pacold, Joseph I.

Luminescent materials play important roles in energy sciences, through solid state lighting and possible applications in solar energy utilization, and in biomedical research and applications, such as in immunoassays and fluorescence microscopy. The initial excitation of a luminescent material leads to a sequence of transitions between excited states, ideally ending with the emission of one or more optical-wavelength photons. It is essential to understand the microscopic physics of this excited state cascade in order to rationally design materials with high quantum efficiencies or with other fine-tuning of materials response. While optical-wavelength spectroscopies have unraveled many details of the energy transfer pathways in luminescent materials, significant questions remain open for many lanthanide-based luminescent materials. For organometallic dyes in particular, quantum yields remain limited in comparison with inorganic phosphors. This dissertation reports on a research program of synchrotron x-ray studies of the excited state electronic structure and energy-relaxation cascade in trivalent lanthanide phosphors and dyes. To this end, one of the primary results presented here is the first time-resolved x-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy studies of the transient 4f excited states in lanthanide-activated luminescent dyes and phosphors. This is a new application of time-resolved x-ray absorption spectroscopy that makes it possible to directly observe and, to some extent, quantify intramolecular nonradiative energy transfer processes. We find a transient increase in 4f spectral weight associated with an excited state confined to the 4f shell of trivalent Eu. This result implies that it is necessary to revise the current theoretical understanding of 4f excitation in trivalent lanthanide activators: either transient 4f-5d mixing effects are much stronger than previously considered, or else the lanthanide 4f excited state has an unexpectedly large contribution having a strong charge-transfer character. A second primary result comes from an an x-ray excited optical luminescence (XEOL) study that demonstrates, for the first time, that the high flux of modern synchrotron light sources can induce high fractional populations of excited states in trivalent lanthanide phosphors. In this work we have identified the leading-order nonlinear-response mechanism by drawing on strong similarities between XEOL and cathodoluminescence. These results establish the groundwork for studies that would allow deeper inquiry into energy-transfer mechanisms through time-resolved x-ray pump/optical-probe spectroscopies, through time-resolved x-ray emission spectroscopy, or through quantifying of higher-order nonlinear effects at further-enhanced fractional excitation levels. The above scientific results are augmented by a supporting effort in instrumental methodology. This includes the development of high-efficiency x-ray emission spectrometers and their use in collaborations to study pressure-induced changes in f-electron physics and to characterize the intermediate states that occur after photoexcitation of the photosystem-II protein.

The Rotational Spectrum of Iodine Dioxide, OIO

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Charles E.; Cohen, Edward A.

2000-01-01

The rotational spectra of OIO in its ground vibrational and first excited bending states have been observed for the first time. OIO was formed initially from the products of a microwave discharge in O2 passing over molecular iodine and later with greater yield in a DC discharge through a mixture of O2 and I2 vapor. OIO is an asymmetric prolate rotor (kappa = -0.690) with a (sup 2)B(sub 1) electronic ground state. Over 550 ground state transitions and over 160 transitions of the excited bending state have been included in the fits. The resulting parameters are well determined and will be compared to those recently published for OBrO and OClO. These will be interpreted in terms of the molecular geometry, harmonic force field, and electronic structure.

Dual emission of chalcone-analogue dyes emitting in the red region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fayed, Tarek A.; Awad, Mohamed K.

2004-08-01

The photophysical properties of new synthesized chalcones namely; 1-(4 '-R-phenyl)-5-(4 '-dimethylaminophenyl)-2,4- pentadien-1-one, [R=H ( 1), Cl ( 2) and OCH 3 ( 3)] were studied in different solvents by using steady-state absorption and emission spectroscopy. The fluorescence spectra of these chalcones exhibit dual emission in medium and polar solvents. The dual emission was attributed to population of a polar locally excited (LE) state and a highly dipolar intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) state. The changes in dipole moments upon excitation were calculated from the solvatochromic plots. The total fluorescence quantum yields ( φf) were also determined, and their values are strongly dependent on the nature of substitutent and the solvent polarity. Semiempirical molecular orbital calculations using the atom superposition and electron delocalization molecular orbital (ASED-MO) method were also performed to investigate the molecular and electronic structures of these chalcones in both the ground and excited state. The change of the dipole moment upon excitation was explained on the basis of changes in the charge redistribution over the whole skeleton of the molecules, which agree well with the experimental results. Also, the nature and energy of the electronic transitions were elucidated and discussed in relation to the experimental data.

Excited state free energy calculations of Cy3 in different environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sawangsang, Pilailuk; Buranachai, Chittanon; Punwong, Chutintorn

2015-05-01

Cy3, a cyanine dye, is one of the most widely used dyes in investigating the structure and dynamics of biomolecules by means of fluorescence methods. However, Cy3 fluorescence emission is strongly competed by trans-cis isomerization, whose efficiency is dictated by the isomerization energy barrier and the environment of Cy3. The fluorescence quantum yield of Cy3 is very low when the dye is free in homogeneous solution but it is considerably enhanced in an environment that rigidifies the structure, e.g. when it is attached to a DNA strand. In this work, the barriers for isomerization on the excited state of free Cy3, and Cy3 attached to single- and double-stranded DNA in methanol, are presented. The free energy and subsequently the isomerization barrier calculations are performed using the umbrella sampling technique with the weighted histogram analysis method. The hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) approach is employed to provide the potential energy surfaces for the excited state dynamics simulations in umbrella sampling. The semiempirical floating occupation molecular orbital configuration interaction method is used for electronic excited state calculations of the QM region (Cy3). From the free energy calculations, the barrier of Cy3 attached to the single-stranded DNA is highest, in agreement with previously reported experimental results. This is likely due to the stacking interaction between Cy3 and DNA. Such a stacking interaction is likely associated with steric hindrance that prevents the rotation around the conjugated bonds of Cy3. If Cy3 experiences high steric hindrance, it has a higher isomerization barrier and thus the efficiency of fluorescence emission increases.

Collisional Processes Probed by using Resonant Four-Wave Mixing Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCormack, E. F.; Stampanoni, A.; Hemmerling, B.

2000-06-01

Collisionally-induced decay processes in excited-state nitric oxide (NO) have been measured by using time-resolved two-color, resonant four-wave mixing (TC-RFWM) spectroscopy and polarization spectroscopy (PS). Markedly different time dependencies were observed in the data obtained by using TC-RFWM when compared to PS. Oscillations in the PS signal as a function of delay between the pump and probe laser pulses were observed and it was determined that their characteristics depend very sensitively on laser polarization. Analysis reveals that the oscillations in the decay curves are due to coherent excitation of unresolved hyperfine structure in the A state of NO. A comparison of beat frequencies obtained by taking Fourier transforms of the time data to the predicted hyperfine structure of the A state support this explanation. Further, based on a time-dependent model of PS as a FWM process, the signal’s dependence as a function of time on polarization configuration and excitation scheme can be predicted. By using the beat frequency values, fits of the model results to experimental decay curves for different pressures allows a study of the quenching rate in the A state due to collisional processes. A comparison of the PS data to laser-induced fluorescence decay measurements reveals different decay rates which suggests that the PS signal decay depends on the orientation and alignment of the excited molecules. The different behavior of the decay curves obtained by using TC-RFWM and PS can be understood in terms of the various contributions to the decay as described by the model and this has a direct bearing on which technique is preferable for a given set of experimental parameters.

Accurate and efficient calculation of excitation energies with the active-space particle-particle random phase approximation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Du; Yang, Weitao

An efficient method for calculating excitation energies based on the particle-particle random phase approximation (ppRPA) is presented. Neglecting the contributions from the high-lying virtual states and the low-lying core states leads to the significantly smaller active-space ppRPA matrix while keeping the error to within 0.05 eV from the corresponding full ppRPA excitation energies. The resulting computational cost is significantly reduced and becomes less than the construction of the non-local Fock exchange potential matrix in the self-consistent-field (SCF) procedure. With only a modest number of active orbitals, the original ppRPA singlet-triplet (ST) gaps as well as the low-lying single and doublemore » excitation energies can be accurately reproduced at much reduced computational costs, up to 100 times faster than the iterative Davidson diagonalization of the original full ppRPA matrix. For high-lying Rydberg excitations where the Davidson algorithm fails, the computational savings of active-space ppRPA with respect to the direct diagonalization is even more dramatic. The virtues of the underlying full ppRPA combined with the significantly lower computational cost of the active-space approach will significantly expand the applicability of the ppRPA method to calculate excitation energies at a cost of O(K^{4}), with a prefactor much smaller than a single SCF Hartree-Fock (HF)/hybrid functional calculation, thus opening up new possibilities for the quantum mechanical study of excited state electronic structure of large systems.« less

Accurate and efficient calculation of excitation energies with the active-space particle-particle random phase approximation

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Du; Yang, Weitao

2016-10-13

An efficient method for calculating excitation energies based on the particle-particle random phase approximation (ppRPA) is presented. Neglecting the contributions from the high-lying virtual states and the low-lying core states leads to the significantly smaller active-space ppRPA matrix while keeping the error to within 0.05 eV from the corresponding full ppRPA excitation energies. The resulting computational cost is significantly reduced and becomes less than the construction of the non-local Fock exchange potential matrix in the self-consistent-field (SCF) procedure. With only a modest number of active orbitals, the original ppRPA singlet-triplet (ST) gaps as well as the low-lying single and doublemore » excitation energies can be accurately reproduced at much reduced computational costs, up to 100 times faster than the iterative Davidson diagonalization of the original full ppRPA matrix. For high-lying Rydberg excitations where the Davidson algorithm fails, the computational savings of active-space ppRPA with respect to the direct diagonalization is even more dramatic. The virtues of the underlying full ppRPA combined with the significantly lower computational cost of the active-space approach will significantly expand the applicability of the ppRPA method to calculate excitation energies at a cost of O(K^{4}), with a prefactor much smaller than a single SCF Hartree-Fock (HF)/hybrid functional calculation, thus opening up new possibilities for the quantum mechanical study of excited state electronic structure of large systems.« less

Exploring the structural changes on excitation of a luminescent organic bromine-substituted complex by in-house time-resolved pump-probe diffraction

DOE PAGES

Basuroy, Krishnayan; Chen, Yang; Sarkar, Sounak; ...

2017-03-09

The structural changes accompanying the excitation of the luminescent dibromobenzene derivative, 1,4-dibromo-2,5-bis(octyloxy)benzene, have been measured by in-house monochromatic time-resolved (TR) diffraction at 90 K. Results show an increment of the very short intermolecular Br•••Br contact distance from 3.290 Å to 3.380 Å. These calculations show the Br…Br interaction to be strongly repulsive in both the Ground and Excited states but significantly relaxed by the lengthening of the contact distance on excitation. The stability of the crystals is attributed to the many weak C-H···Br and C-H···π intermolecular interactions. Our study described is the first practical application of In-House Time-Resolved diffraction, mademore » possible by the continuing increase in the brightness of X-ray sources and the sensitivity of our detectors.« less

Exploring the structural changes on excitation of a luminescent organic bromine-substituted complex by in-house time-resolved pump-probe diffraction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Basuroy, Krishnayan; Chen, Yang; Sarkar, Sounak

The structural changes accompanying the excitation of the luminescent dibromobenzene derivative, 1,4-dibromo-2,5-bis(octyloxy)benzene, have been measured by in-house monochromatic time-resolved (TR) diffraction at 90 K. Results show an increment of the very short intermolecular Br•••Br contact distance from 3.290 Å to 3.380 Å. These calculations show the Br…Br interaction to be strongly repulsive in both the Ground and Excited states but significantly relaxed by the lengthening of the contact distance on excitation. The stability of the crystals is attributed to the many weak C-H···Br and C-H···π intermolecular interactions. Our study described is the first practical application of In-House Time-Resolved diffraction, mademore » possible by the continuing increase in the brightness of X-ray sources and the sensitivity of our detectors.« less

Structural, energetic, and UV-Vis spectral analysis of UVA filter 4-tert-butyl-4'-methoxydibenzoylmethane.

PubMed

Pinto da Silva, Luís; Ferreira, Paulo J O; Duarte, Darío J R; Miranda, Margarida S; Esteves da Silva, Joaquim C G

2014-02-27

The growing awareness of the harmful effects of ultraviolet (UV) solar radiation has increased the production and consumption of sunscreen products, which contain organic and inorganic molecules named UV filters that absorb, reflect, or scatter UV radiation, thus minimizing negative human health effects. 4-tert-Butyl-4'-methoxydibenzoylmethane (BMDBM) is one of the few organic UVA filters and the most commonly used. BMDBM exists in sunscreens in the enol form which absorbs strongly in the UVA range. However, under sunlight irradiation tautomerization occurs to the keto form, resulting in the loss of UV protection. In this study we have performed quantum chemical calculations to study the excited-state molecular structure and excitation spectra of the enol and keto tautomers of BMDBM. This knowledge is of the utmost importance as the starting point for studies aiming at the understanding of its activity when applied on human skin and also its fate once released into the aquatic environment. The efficiency of excitation transitions was rationalized based on the concept of molecular orbital superposition. The loss of UV protection was attributed to the enol → keto phototautomerism and subsequent photodegradation. Although this process is not energetically favorable in the singlet bright state, photodegradation is possible because of intersystem crossing to the first two triplet states.

Time-resolved infrared and resonance Raman studies of benzil. Vibrational analysis and structures of the excited states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mizuno, Misao; Iwata, Koichi; Takahashi, Hiroaki

2003-12-01

Structures of the S 1 and T 1 states of benzil are examined based on the experimental results from nanosecond time-resolved infrared spectroscopy and picosecond time-resolved Raman spectroscopy. Nanosecond time-resolved infrared spectra of the T 1 state of benzil as well as its three isotopically substituted analogues were measured in carbon tetrachloride. The observed infrared bands of T 1 benzil were assigned based on the frequency shifts on isotopic ( 18O, and deuteration) substitutions. The infrared band at 1312 cm -1 is assigned to the CO anti-symmetric stretch vibration. An infrared band that has large contribution from the central C-C stretch is not observed. Picosecond time-resolved resonance Raman spectra of the S 1 state of benzil were also measured. It has been reported that after the photoexcitation, the benzil molecule shows an ultrafast conformational change in the S 1 state. The observed resonance Raman bands are attributable to the vibrations of the relaxed form of the S 1 state. By comparing the Raman and infrared spectra of the S 0, S 1, and T 1 states of benzil, the structures of benzil in the excited states are discussed. Upon going from the S 0 state to the S 1 or T 1 state, the bond order of the CO bond decreases while that of the central C-C bond increases. Although several ground-state bands appear in both the infrared and Raman spectra, there is no band observed simultaneously in the infrared and Raman spectra of the T 1 state, except for bands attributable to the phenyl ring vibrations. We conclude that T 1 benzil has the inversion center that arises from the trans-planar structure. The spectral pattern of the resonance Raman scattering of the relaxed S 1 state is very similar to that of the T 1 state. This implies that the molecular structure of the relaxed S 1 state is similar to that of the T 1 state. The structure of the relaxed form of the S 1 state is also considered to be trans-planar.

Simulations of resonant Raman response in bundles of semiconductor carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roslyak, Oleksiy; Piryatinski, Andrei; Doorn, Stephen; Haroz, Erik; Telg, Hagen; Duque, Juan; Crochet, Jared; Simpson, J. R.; Hight Walker, A. R.; LANL Collaboration; Fordham Collaboration; NIST Collaboration

This work is motivated by an experimental study of resonant Raman spectroscopy under E22 excitation, which shows a new, sharp feature associated with bundling in (6,5) semiconductor carbon nanotubes. In order to provide an insight into the experimental data, we model Raman excitation spectra using our modified discrete dipole approximation (DDA) method. The calculations account for the exciton states polarized along and across the nanotube axis that are characterized by a small energy splitting. Strong polarization of the nanotubes forming the bundle results in the exciton state mixing whose spectroscopic signatures such as peaks positions, line widths, and depolarization ratio are calculated and compared to the experiment. Furthermore, the effects of the energy and structural disorder, as well as structural defects within the bundle are also examined and compared with the experimental data.

Molecular reorganization of selected quinoline derivatives in the ground and excited states—Investigations via static DFT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Błaziak, Kacper; Panek, Jarosław J.; Jezierska, Aneta, E-mail: aneta.jezierska@chem.uni.wroc.pl

2015-07-21

Quinoline derivatives are interesting objects to study internal reorganizations due to the observed excited-state-induced intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT). Here, we report on computations for selected 12 quinoline derivatives possessing three kinds of intramolecular hydrogen bonds. Density functional theory was employed for the current investigations. The metric and electronic structure simulations were performed for the ground state and first excited singlet and triplet states. The computed potential energy profiles do not show a spontaneous proton transfer in the ground state, whereas excited states exhibit this phenomenon. Atoms in Molecules (AIM) theory was applied to study the nature of hydrogen bonding, whereasmore » Harmonic Oscillator Model of aromaticity index (HOMA) provided data of aromaticity evolution as a derivative of the bridge proton position. The AIM-based topological analysis confirmed the presence of the intramolecular hydrogen bonding. In addition, using the theory, we were able to provide a quantitative illustration of bonding transformation: from covalent to the hydrogen. On the basis of HOMA analysis, we showed that the aromaticity of both rings is dependent on the location of the bridge proton. Further, the computed results were compared with experimental data available. Finally, ESIPT occurrence was compared for the three investigated kinds of hydrogen bridges, and competition between two bridges in one molecule was studied.« less

Observation of isoscalar and isovector dipole excitations in neutron-rich 20O

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakatsuka, N.; Baba, H.; Aumann, T.; Avigo, R.; Banerjee, S. R.; Bracco, A.; Caesar, C.; Camera, F.; Ceruti, S.; Chen, S.; Derya, V.; Doornenbal, P.; Giaz, A.; Horvat, A.; Ieki, K.; Inakura, T.; Imai, N.; Kawabata, T.; Kobayashi, N.; Kondo, Y.; Koyama, S.; Kurata-Nishimura, M.; Masuoka, S.; Matsushita, M.; Michimasa, S.; Million, B.; Motobayashi, T.; Murakami, T.; Nakamura, T.; Ohnishi, T.; Ong, H. J.; Ota, S.; Otsu, H.; Ozaki, T.; Saito, A.; Sakurai, H.; Scheit, H.; Schindler, F.; Schrock, P.; Shiga, Y.; Shikata, M.; Shimoura, S.; Steppenbeck, D.; Sumikama, T.; Syndikus, I.; Takeda, H.; Takeuchi, S.; Tamii, A.; Taniuchi, R.; Togano, Y.; Tscheuschner, J.; Tsubota, J.; Wang, H.; Wieland, O.; Wimmer, K.; Yamaguchi, Y.; Yoneda, K.; Zenihiro, J.

2017-05-01

The isospin characters of low-energy dipole excitations in neutron-rich unstable nucleus 20O were investigated, for the first time in unstable nuclei. Two spectra obtained from a dominant isovector probe (20O + Au) and a dominant isoscalar probe (20O + α) were compared and analyzed by the distorted-wave Born approximation to extract independently the isovector and isoscalar dipole strengths. Two known 1- states with large isovector dipole strengths at energies of 5.36(5) MeV (11-) and 6.84(7) MeV (12-) were also excited by the isoscalar probe. These two states were found to have different isoscalar dipole strengths, 2.70(32)% (11-) and 0.67(12)% (12-), respectively, in exhaustion of the isoscalar dipole-energy-weighted sum rule. The difference in isoscalar strength indicated that they have different underlying structures.

Large Hyperpolarizabilities at Telecommunication-Relevant Wavelengths in Donor–Acceptor–Donor Nonlinear Optical Chromophores

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Octopolar D2-symmetric chromophores, based on the MPZnM supermolecular motif in which (porphinato)zinc(II) (PZn) and ruthenium(II) polypyridyl (M) structural units are connected via ethyne linkages, were synthesized. These structures take advantage of electron-rich meso-arylporphyrin or electron-poor meso-(perfluoroalkyl)porphyrin macrocycles, unsubstituted terpyridyl and 4′-pyrrolidinyl-2,2′;6′,2″-terpyridyl ligands, and modulation of metal(II) polypyridyl-to-(porphinato)zinc connectivity, to probe how electronic and geometric factors impact the measured hyperpolarizability. Transient absorption spectra obtained at early time delays (tdelay < 400 fs) demonstrate fast excited-state relaxation, and formation of a highly polarized T1 excited state; the T1 states of these chromophores display expansive, intense T1 → Tn absorption manifolds that dominate the 800–1200 nm region of the NIR, long (μs) triplet-state lifetimes, and unusually large NIR excited absorptive extinction coefficients [ε(T1 → Tn) ∼ 105 M–1 cm–1]. Dynamic hyperpolarizability (βλ) values were determined from hyper-Rayleigh light scattering (HRS) measurements, carried out at multiple incident irradiation wavelengths spanning the 800–1500 nm spectral domain. The measured βHRS value (4600 ± 1200 × 10–30 esu) for one of these complexes, RuPZnRu, is the largest yet reported for any chromophore at a 1500 nm irradiation wavelength, highlighting that appropriate engineering of strong electronic coupling between multiple charge-transfer oscillators provides a critical design strategy to realize octopolar NLO chromophores exhibiting large βHRS values at telecom-relevant wavelengths. Generalized Thomas–Kuhn sum (TKS) rules were utilized to compute the effective excited-state-to-excited-state transition dipole moments from experimental linear-absorption spectra; these data were then utilized to compute hyperpolarizabilities as a function of frequency, that include two- and three-state contributions for both βzzz and βxzx tensor components to the RuPZnRu hyperpolarizability spectrum. This analysis predicts that the βzzz and βxzx tensor contributions to the RuPZnRu hyperpolarizability spectrum maximize near 1550 nm, in agreement with experimental data. The TKS analysis suggests that relative to analogous dipolar chromophores, octopolar supermolecules will be likely characterized by more intricate dependences of the measured hyperpolarizability upon irradiation wavelength due to the interactions among multiple different β tensor components. PMID:28058285

Effects of zero point vibration on the reaction dynamics of water dimer cations following ionization.

PubMed

Tachikawa, Hiroto

2017-06-30

Reactions of water dimer cation (H2O)2+ following ionization have been investigated by means of a direct ab initio molecular dynamics method. In particular, the effects of zero point vibration and zero point energy (ZPE) on the reaction mechanism were considered in this work. Trajectories were run on two electronic potential energy surfaces (PESs) of (H2O)2+: ground state ( 2 A″-like state) and the first excited state ( 2 A'-like state). All trajectories on the ground-state PES lead to the proton-transferred product: H 2 O + (Wd)-H 2 O(Wa) → OH(Wd)-H 3 O + (Wa), where Wd and Wa refer to the proton donor and acceptor water molecules, respectively. Time of proton transfer (PT) varied widely from 15 to 40 fs (average time of PT = 30.9 fs). The trajectories on the excited-state PES gave two products: an intermediate complex with a face-to-face structure (H 2 O-OH 2 ) + and a PT product. However, the proton was transferred to the opposite direction, and the reverse PT was found on the excited-state PES: H 2 O(Wd)-H 2 O + (Wa) → H 3 O + (Wd)-OH(Wa). This difference occurred because the ionizing water molecule in the dimer switched between the ground and excited states. The reaction mechanism of (H2O)2+ and the effects of ZPE are discussed on the basis of the results. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Ultrafast dynamics of the photo-excited hemes b and cn in the cytochrome b6f complex.

PubMed

Agarwal, Rachna; Chauvet, Adrien A P

2017-01-25

The dynamics of hemes b and c n within the cytochrome b 6 f complex are investigated by means of ultrafast broad-band transient absorption spectroscopy. On the one hand, the data reveal that, subsequent to visible light excitation, part of the b hemes undergoes pulse-limited photo-oxidation, with the liberated electron supposedly being transferred to one of the adjacent aromatic amino acids. Photo-oxidation is followed by charge recombination in about 8.2 ps. Subsequent to charge recombination, heme b is promoted to a vibrationally excited ground state that relaxes in about 4.6 ps. On the other hand, heme c n undergoes ultrafast ground state recovery in about 140 fs. Interestingly, the data also show that, in contrast to previous beliefs, Chl a is involved in the photochemistry of hemes. Indeed, subsequent to heme excitation, Chl a bleaches and recovers to its ground state in 90 fs and 650 fs, respectively. Chl a bleaching allegedly corresponds to the formation of a short lived Chl a anion. Beyond the previously suggested structural role, this study provides unique evidence that Chl a is directly involved in the photochemistry of the hemes.

Electronic-structure and quantum dynamical study of the photochromism of the aromatic Schiff base salicylideneaniline

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ortiz-Sanchez, Juan Manuel; Gelabert, Ricard; Moreno, Miquel

2008-12-07

The ultrafast proton transfer dynamics of salicylideneaniline has been theoretically analyzed in the ground and first singlet excited electronic states using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT calculations, which predict a ({pi},{pi}*) barrierless excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT). In addition to this, the photochemistry of salicylideneaniline is experimentally known to present fast depopulation processes of the photoexcited species before and after the proton transfer reaction. Such processes are explained by means of conical intersections between the ground and first singlet ({pi},{pi}*) excited electronic states. The electronic energies obtained by the time-dependent density functional theory formalism have been fittedmore » to a monodimensional potential energy surface in order to perform quantum dynamics study of the processes. Our results show that the proton transfer and deactivation of the photoexcited species before the ESIPT processes are completed within 49.6 and 37.7 fs, respectively, which is in remarkable good agreement with experiments.« less

Electronic and rovibrational quantum chemical analysis of C3P-: the next interstellar anion?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fortenberry, Ryan C.; Lukemire, Joseph A.

2015-11-01

C3P- is analogous to the known interstellar anion C3N- with phosphorus replacing nitrogen in a simple step down the periodic table. In this work, it is shown that C3P- is likely to possess a dipole-bound excited state. It has been hypothesized and observationally supported that dipole-bound excited states are an avenue through which anions could be formed in the interstellar medium. Additionally, C3P- has a valence excited state that may lead to further stabilization of this molecule, and C3P- has a larger dipole moment than neutral C3P (˜6 D versus ˜4 D). As such, C3P- is probably a more detectable astromolecule than even its corresponding neutral radical. Highly accurate quantum chemical quartic force fields are also applied to C3P- and its singly 13C substituted isotopologues in order to provide structures, vibrational frequencies, and spectroscopic constants that may aid in its detection.

Ultrafast X-Ray Spectroscopy of Conical Intersections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neville, Simon P.; Chergui, Majed; Stolow, Albert; Schuurman, Michael S.

2018-06-01

Ongoing developments in ultrafast x-ray sources offer powerful new means of probing the complex nonadiabatically coupled structural and electronic dynamics of photoexcited molecules. These non-Born-Oppenheimer effects are governed by general electronic degeneracies termed conical intersections, which play a key role, analogous to that of a transition state, in the electronic-nuclear dynamics of excited molecules. Using high-level ab initio quantum dynamics simulations, we studied time-resolved x-ray absorption (TRXAS) and photoelectron spectroscopy (TRXPS) of the prototypical unsaturated organic chromophore, ethylene, following excitation to its S2(π π*) state. The TRXAS, in particular, is highly sensitive to all aspects of the ensuing dynamics. These x-ray spectroscopies provide a clear signature of the wave packet dynamics near conical intersections, related to charge localization effects driven by the nuclear dynamics. Given the ubiquity of charge localization in excited state dynamics, we believe that ultrafast x-ray spectroscopies offer a unique and powerful route to the direct observation of dynamics around conical intersections.

Photoluminescence properties and structure of double perovskite Ba2ZnWO6:Eu3+, Li+ as a novel red emitting phosphor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Peng; Yang, Dingming; Hu, Wenyuan; Zhang, Jing; Wu, Yadong

2017-12-01

Novel red-emitting Ba2Zn1-x-yWO6:xEu3+, yLi+ phosphors were prepared using a high-temperature solid-state method, and the crystal structure, the photoluminescence properties and the doping concentrations of Eu3+ and Li+ were investigated. The results show that these phosphors can be excited by near-ultraviolet light (250-400 nm) and co-doped Li+ can significantly enhance their PL performance. An intense red emission peak at 598 nm (5D0-7F1 transitions) was observed with an excitation wavelength of 316 nm. The CIE chromaticity coordinates of the phosphors are located in the red region, indicating that the BZW:Eu3+, Li+ phosphor holds promise as a red phosphor for near-ultraviolet excited WLEDs.

Attaching naphthalene derivatives onto BODIPY for generating excited triplet state and singlet oxygen: Tuning PET-based photosensitizer by electron donors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xian-Fu; Feng, Nan

2018-01-01

meso-Naphthalene substituted BODIPY compounds were prepared in a facile one pot reaction. The naphthalene functionalization of BODIPY leads up to a 5-fold increase in the formation efficiency of excited triplet state and singlet oxygen in polar solvents. Steady state and time resolved fluorescence, laser flash photolysis, and quantum chemistry methods were used to reveal the mechanism. All measured data and quantum chemical results suggest that these systems can be viewed as electron donor-acceptor (D-A) pair (BODIPY acts as the acceptor), photoinduced charge transfer (PCT) or photoinduced electron transfer (PET) occurs upon photo excitation (D-A + hν → Dδ +-Aδ -, 0 < δ ≤ 1), and the charge recombination induced the formation of triplet state (Dδ +-Aδ - → D-A (T1). These novel PCT- or PET-based photosensitizers (PSs) show different features from traditional PSs, such as the strong tunability by facile structural modification and good selectivity upon medium polarity. The new character for this type of PSs can lead to important applications in organic oxygenation reactions and photodynamic therapy of tumors.

Subpicosecond X rotations of atomic clock states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Yunheung; Lee, Han-gyeol; Kim, Hyosub; Jo, Hanlae; Ahn, Jaewook

2018-05-01

We demonstrate subpicosecond-timescale population transfer between the pair of hyperfine ground states of atomic rubidium using a single laser-pulse. Our scheme utilizes the geometric and dynamic phases induced during Rabi oscillation through the fine-structure excited state to construct an X rotation gate for the hyperfine-state qubit system. The experiment performed with a femtosecond laser and cold rubidium atoms, in a magnetooptical trap, shows over 98% maximal population transfer between the clock states.

Ultraviolet photodissociation action spectroscopy of the N-pyridinium cation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hansen, Christopher S., E-mail: csh297@uowmail.edu.au; Trevitt, Adam J., E-mail: adamt@uow.edu.au; Blanksby, Stephen J.

2015-01-07

The S{sub 1}←S{sub 0} electronic transition of the N-pyridinium ion (C{sub 5}H{sub 5}NH{sup +}) is investigated using ultraviolet photodissociation (PD) spectroscopy of the bare ion and also the N{sub 2}-tagged complex. Gas-phase N-pyridinium ions photodissociate by the loss of molecular hydrogen (H{sub 2}) in the photon energy range 37 000–45 000 cm{sup −1} with structurally diagnostic ion-molecule reactions identifying the 2-pyridinylium ion as the exclusive co-product. The photodissociation action spectra reveal vibronic details that, with the aid of electronic structure calculations, support the proposal that dissociation occurs through an intramolecular rearrangement on the ground electronic state following internal conversion. Quantum chemical calculationsmore » are used to analyze the measured spectra. Most of the vibronic features are attributed to progressions of totally symmetric ring deformation modes and out-of-plane modes active in the isomerization of the planar excited state towards the non-planar excited state global minimum.« less

Gamma and Ion-Beam Irradiation of DNA: Free Radical Mechanisms, Electron Effects, and Radiation Chemical Track Structure

PubMed Central

Sevilla, Michael D.; Becker, David; Kumar, Anil; Adhikary, Amitava

2016-01-01

The focus of our laboratory’s investigation is to study the direct-type DNA damage mechanisms resulting from γ-ray and ion-beam radiation-induced free radical processes in DNA which lead to molecular damage important to cellular survival. This work compares the results of low LET (γ−) and high LET (ion-beam) radiation to develop a chemical track structure model for ion-beam radiation damage to DNA. Recent studies on protonation states of cytosine cation radicals in the N1-substituted cytosine derivatives in their ground state and 5-methylcytosine cation radicals in ground as well as in excited state are described. Our results exhibit a radical signature of excitations in 5-methylcytosine cation radical. Moreover, our recent theoretical studies elucidate the role of electron-induced reactions (low energy electrons (LEE), presolvated electrons (epre−), and aqueous (or, solvated) electrons (eaq−)). Finally DFT calculations of the ionization potentials of various sugar radicals show the relative reactivity of these species. PMID:27695205

Gamma and ion-beam irradiation of DNA: Free radical mechanisms, electron effects, and radiation chemical track structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sevilla, Michael D.; Becker, David; Kumar, Anil; Adhikary, Amitava

2016-11-01

The focus of our laboratory's investigation is to study the direct-type DNA damage mechanisms resulting from γ-ray and ion-beam radiation-induced free radical processes in DNA which lead to molecular damage important to cellular survival. This work compares the results of low LET (γ-) and high LET (ion-beam) radiation to develop a chemical track structure model for ion-beam radiation damage to DNA. Recent studies on protonation states of cytosine cation radicals in the N1-substituted cytosine derivatives in their ground state and 5-methylcytosine cation radicals in ground as well as in excited state are described. Our results exhibit a radical signature of excitations in 5-methylcytosine cation radical. Moreover, our recent theoretical studies elucidate the role of electron-induced reactions (low energy electrons (LEE), presolvated electrons (epre-), and aqueous (or, solvated) electrons (eaq-)). Finally DFT calculations of the ionization potentials of various sugar radicals show the relative reactivity of these species.

Overview of Spontaneous Frequency Chirping in Confined Plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berk, Herbert

2012-10-01

Spontaneous rapid frequency chirping is now a commonly observed phenomenon in plasmas with an energetic particle component. These particles typically induce so called weak instabilities, where they excite background waves that the plasma can support such as shear Alfven waves. The explanation for this phenomenon attributes the frequency chirping to the formation of phase space structures in the form of holes and clumps. Normally a saturated mode, in the presence of background dissipation, would be expected decay after saturation as the background plasma absorbs the energy of the excited wave. However the phase space structures take an alternate route, and move to a regions of phase space that are lower energy states of the energetic particle distribution. Through the wave-resonant particle interaction, this movement is locked to the frequency observed by the wave. This phenomenon implies that alternate mechanisms for plasma relaxation need to be considered for plasma states new marginal stability. It is also possible that these chirping mechanisms can be used to advantage to externally control states of plasma.

Nature of a single doped hole in two-leg Hubbard and t - J ladders

DOE PAGES

Liu, Shenxiu; Jiang, Hong -Chen; Devereaux, Thomas P.

2016-10-15

In this study, we have systematically studied the single-hole problem in two-leg Hubbard and t–J ladders by large-scale density-matrix renormalization-group calculations. We found that the doped holes in both models behave similarly, while the three-site correlated hopping term is not important in determining the ground-state properties. For more insights, we have also calculated the elementary excitations, i.e., the energy gaps to the excited states of the system. In the strong-rung limit, we found that the doped hole behaves as a Bloch quasiparticle in both systems where the spin and charge of the doped hole are tightly bound together. In themore » isotropic limit, while the hole still behaves like a quasiparticle in the long-wavelength limit, our results show that its spin and charge components are only loosely bound together inside the quasiparticle, whose internal structure can lead to a visible residual effect which dramatically changes the local structure of the ground-state wave function.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Shenxiu; Jiang, Hong -Chen; Devereaux, Thomas P.

In this study, we have systematically studied the single-hole problem in two-leg Hubbard and t–J ladders by large-scale density-matrix renormalization-group calculations. We found that the doped holes in both models behave similarly, while the three-site correlated hopping term is not important in determining the ground-state properties. For more insights, we have also calculated the elementary excitations, i.e., the energy gaps to the excited states of the system. In the strong-rung limit, we found that the doped hole behaves as a Bloch quasiparticle in both systems where the spin and charge of the doped hole are tightly bound together. In themore » isotropic limit, while the hole still behaves like a quasiparticle in the long-wavelength limit, our results show that its spin and charge components are only loosely bound together inside the quasiparticle, whose internal structure can lead to a visible residual effect which dramatically changes the local structure of the ground-state wave function.« less

Synthesis and photophysical properties of a single bond linked tetracene dimer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Tingting; Shen, Li; Liu, Heyuan; Sun, Xuan; Li, Xiyou

2016-07-01

A tetracene dimer linked directly by a single bond has been successfully prepared by using electron withdrawing groups to improve the stability. The molecular structure of this dimer is characterized by 1H NMR, MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. The minimized molecular structure and X-ray crystallography reveal that the tetracene subunits of this dimer adopt an orthogonal configuration. Its absorption spectrum differs significantly from that of its monomeric counterpart, suggesting the presence of strong interactions between the two tetracene subunits. The excited state of this dimer is delocalized on both two tetracene subunits, which is significantly different from that of orthogonal anthracene dimers, but similar with that observed for orthogonal pentacene dimer. Most of the excited states of this dimer decay by radioactive channels, which is different from the localized twisted charge transfer state (LTCT) channel of anthracene dimers and the singlet fission (SF) channel of pentacene dimers. The results of this research suggest that similar orthogonal configurations caused different propertied for acene dimers with different conjugation length.

Correlation between electronic structure and electron conductivity in MoX2 (X = S, Se, and Te)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muzakir, Saifful Kamaluddin

2017-12-01

Layered structure molybdenum dichalcogenides, MoX2 (X = S, Se, and Te) are in focus as reversible charge storage electrode for pseudocapacitor applications. Correlation between number of layer and bandgap of the materials has been established by previous researchers. The correlation would reveal a connection between the bandgap and charge storage properties i.e., amount of charges that could be stored, and speed of storage or dissociation. In this work, fundamental parameters viz., (i) size-offset between a monolayer and exciton Bohr radius of MoX2 and (ii) ground and excited state electron density have been studied. We have identified realistic monolayer models of MoX2 using quantum chemical calculations which explain a correlation between size-offset and charge storage properties. We conclude that as the size-offset decreases, the higher possibility of wave functions overlap between the excited state, and ground state electrons; therefore the higher the electron mobility, and conductivity of the MoX2 would be.

Integrable pair-transition-coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equations.

PubMed

Ling, Liming; Zhao, Li-Chen

2015-08-01

We study integrable coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equations with pair particle transition between components. Based on exact solutions of the coupled model with attractive or repulsive interaction, we predict that some new dynamics of nonlinear excitations can exist, such as the striking transition dynamics of breathers, new excitation patterns for rogue waves, topological kink excitations, and other new stable excitation structures. In particular, we find that nonlinear wave solutions of this coupled system can be written as a linear superposition of solutions for the simplest scalar nonlinear Schrödinger equation. Possibilities to observe them are discussed in a cigar-shaped Bose-Einstein condensate with two hyperfine states. The results would enrich our knowledge on nonlinear excitations in many coupled nonlinear systems with transition coupling effects, such as multimode nonlinear fibers, coupled waveguides, and a multicomponent Bose-Einstein condensate system.

Excited state properties of the astaxanthin radical cation: A quantum chemical study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dreuw, Andreas; Starcke, Jan Hendrik; Wachtveitl, Josef

2010-07-01

Using time-dependent density functional theory, the excited electronic states of the astaxanthin radical cation (AXT rad + ) are investigated. While the optically allowed excited D 1 and D 3 states are typical ππ∗ excited states, the D 2 and D 4 states are nπ∗ states. Special emphasis is put onto the influence of the carbonyl groups onto the excited states. For this objective, the excited states of four hypothetical carotenoids and zeaxanthin have been computed. Addition of a carbonyl group to a conjugated carbon double bond system does essentially not change the vertical excitation energies of the optically allowed ππ∗ states due to two counter-acting effects: the excitation energy should increase due to the -M-effect of the carbonyl group and at the same time decrease owing to the elongation of the conjugated double bond system by the carbonyl group itself.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Berkelbach, Timothy C., E-mail: tcb2112@columbia.edu; Reichman, David R., E-mail: drr2103@columbia.edu; Hybertsen, Mark S., E-mail: mhyberts@bnl.gov

We extend our previous work on singlet exciton fission in isolated dimers to the case of crystalline materials, focusing on pentacene as a canonical and concrete example. We discuss the proper interpretation of the character of low-lying excited states of relevance to singlet fission. In particular, we consider a variety of metrics for measuring charge-transfer character, conclusively demonstrating significant charge-transfer character in the low-lying excited states. The impact of this electronic structure on the subsequent singlet fission dynamics is assessed by performing real-time master-equation calculations involving hundreds of quantum states. We make direct comparisons with experimental absorption spectra and singletmore » fission rates, finding good quantitative agreement in both cases, and we discuss the mechanistic distinctions that exist between small isolated aggregates and bulk systems.« less

Short-time dynamics of 2-thiouracil in the light absorbing S{sub 2}(ππ{sup ∗}) state

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jiang, Jie; Zhang, Teng-shuo; Xue, Jia-dan

2015-11-07

Ultrahigh quantum yields of intersystem crossing to the lowest triplet state T{sub 1} are observed for 2-thiouracils (2TU), which is in contrast to the natural uracils that predominantly exhibit ultrafast internal conversion to the ground state upon excitation to the singlet excited state. The intersystem crossing mechanism of 2TU has recently been investigated using second-order perturbation methods with a high-level complete-active space self-consistent field. Three competitive nonadiabatic pathways to the lowest triplet state T{sub 1} from the initially populated singlet excited state S{sub 2} were proposed. We investigate the initial decay dynamics of 2TU from the light absorbing excited statesmore » using resonance Raman spectroscopy, time-dependent wave-packet theory in the simple model, and complete-active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) and time dependent-Becke’s three-parameter exchange and correlation functional with the Lee-Yang-Parr correlation functional (TD-B3LYP) calculations. The obtained short-time structural dynamics in easy-to-visualize internal coordinates were compared with the CASSCF(16,11) predicted key nonadiabatic decay routes. Our results indicate that the predominant decay pathway initiated at the Franck-Condon region is toward the S{sub 2}/S{sub 1} conical intersection point and S{sub 2}T{sub 3} intersystem crossing point, but not toward the S{sub 2}T{sub 2} intersystem crossing point.« less

Ultrafast excited-state deactivation of 9-methylhypoxanthine in aqueous solution: A QM/MM MD study.

PubMed

Guo, Xugeng; Yuan, Huijuan; An, Beibei; Zhu, Qiuling; Zhang, Jinglai

2016-04-21

Photoinduced ultrafast non-adiabatic decay of 9-methylhypoxanthine (9MHPX) in aqueous solution was investigated by ab initio surface-hopping dynamics calculations using a combined quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical approach. The absorption spectra of 9MHPX in aqueous solution were also explored by the hybrid cluster-continuum model at the level of time-dependent density functional theory along with the polarizable continuum model (PCM). The static electronic-structure calculations indicate that the absorption spectra of 9MHPX simulated by TD-B3LYP/PCM and TD-X3LYP/PCM can reproduce very well the experimental findings, with the accuracy of about 0.20 eV. According to dynamics simulations, irradiation of 9MHPX populates the bright excited singlet S1 state, which may undergo an ultrafast non-radiative deactivation to the S0 state. The lifetime of the S1 state of 9MHPX in aqueous solution is predicted to be 115.6 fs, slightly longer than that in the gas phase (88.8 fs), suggesting that the solventwater has no significant influence on the excited-state lifetime of 9MHPX. Such a behavior in 9MHPX is distinctly different from its parent hypoxanthine keto-N9H tautomer in which the excited-state lifetime of the latter in watersolution was remarkably enhanced as compared to the gas phase. The significant difference of the photodynamical behaviors between 9MHPX and keto-N9H can be ascribed to their different hydrogen bond environment in aqueous solution.

Cob(I)alamin: insight into the nature of electronically excited states elucidated via quantum chemical computations and analysis of absorption, CD and MCD data.

PubMed

Kornobis, Karina; Ruud, Kenneth; Kozlowski, Pawel M

2013-02-07

The nature of electronically excited states of the super-reduced form of vitamin B(12) (i.e., cob(I)alamin or B(12s)), a ubiquitous B(12) intermediate, was investigated by performing quantum-chemical calculations within the time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) framework and by establishing their correspondence to experimental data. Using response theory, the electronic absorption (Abs), circular dichroism (CD) and magnetic CD (MCD) spectra of cob(I)alamin were simulated and directly compared with experiment. Several issues have been taken into considerations while performing the TD-DFT calculations, such as strong dependence on the applied exchange-correlation (XC) functional or structural simplification imposed on the cob(I)alamin. In addition, the low-lying transitions were also validated by performing CASSCF/MC-XQDPT2 calculations. By comparing computational results with existing experimental data a new level of understanding of electronic excitations has been established at the molecular level. The present study extends and confirms conclusions reached for other cobalamins. In particular, the better performance of the BP86 functional, rather than hybrid-type, was observed in terms of the excitations associated with both Co d and corrin π localized transitions. In addition, the lowest energy band was associated with multiple metal-to-ligand charge transfer excitations as opposed to the commonly assumed view of a single π → π* transition followed by vibrational progression. Finally, the use of the full cob(I)alamin structure, instead of simplified molecular models, shed new light on the spectral analyses of cobalamin systems and revealed new challenges of this approach related to long-range charge transfer excitations involving side chains.

The electronic structure and second-order nonlinear optical properties of donor-acceptor acetylenes - A detailed investigation of structure-property relationships

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stiegman, A. E.; Graham, Eva; Khundkar, Lutfur R.; Perry, Joseph W.; Cheng, L.-T.; Perry, Kelly J.

1991-01-01

A series of donor-acceptor acetylene compounds was synthesized in which systematic changes in both the conjugation length and the donor-acceptor strength were made. The effect of these structural changes on the spectroscopic and electronic properties of the molecules and, ultimately, on the measured second-order molecular hyperpolarizabilities (beta) was investigated. It was found that increases in the donor-acceptor strength resulted in increases in the magnitude of beta. For this class of molecules, the increase is dominated by the energy of the intramolecular charge-transfer transition, while factors such as the ground to excited-state dipole moment change and the transition-moment integral are much less important. Increasing the conjugation length from one to two acetylene linkers did not result in an increase in the value of beta; however, beta increased sharply in going from two acetylenes to three. This increase is attributed to the superposition of several nearly isoenergetic excited states.

Rotationally resolved electronic spectroscopy of biomolecules in the gas phase. Melatonin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, John T.; Brand, Christian; Wollenhaupt, Miriam; Pratt, David W.; Leo Meerts, W.; Schmitt, Michael

2011-07-01

Rotationally resolved electronic spectra of the A and B bands of melatonin have been analyzed using an evolutionary strategy approach. From a comparison of the ab initio calculated structures of energy selected conformers to the experimental rotational constants, the A band could be shown to be due to a gauche structure of the side chain, while the B band is an anti structure. Both bands show a complicated pattern due to a splitting from the threefold internal rotation of the methyl rotor in the N-acetyl group of the molecules. From a torsional analysis we additionally were able to determine the barriers of the methyl torsion in both electronic states of melatonin B and give an estimate for the change of the barrier upon electronic excitation in melatonin A. The electronic nature of the lowest excited singlet state could be determined to be 1Lb (as in the chromophore indole) from comparison to the results of ab initio calculations.

Methylation effects in state resolved quenching of highly vibrationally excited azabenzenes (Evib˜38 500 cm-1). I. Collisions with water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elioff, Michael S.; Fang, Maosen; Mullin, Amy S.

2001-10-01

To investigate the role of molecular structure in collisions that quench highly vibrationally excited molecules, we have performed state resolved transient infrared absorption studies of energy gain in a number of rotational levels of H2O(000) resulting from collisions of water with vibrationally excited 2-methylpyridine (2-picoline) and 2,6-dimethylpyridine (2,6-lutidine) in a low-pressure gas-phase environment at 298 K. Vibrationally excited methylpyridines were prepared with ˜38 500 cm-1 of internal energy using 266 nm ultraviolet excitation to an S1 electronic state followed by rapid radiationless decay to the S0 electronic state. Collisions that populate rotationally excited states of H2O(000) were investigated with infrared absorption by monitoring the appearance of individual rotational states of H2O(000) with energies between 1000 and 2000 cm-1. Rotational state distributions for recoiling water molecules were characterized by Boltzmann temperatures of Trot=590±90 K for quenching of hot picoline and Trot=490±80 K for lutidine quenching. Doppler-broadened transient absorption line profiles show that the scattered H2O(000) molecules have laboratory-frame translational energy distributions corresponding to Ttrans≈600 K for deactivation of picoline and Ttrans≈590 K for lutidine. Energy transfer rate constant measurements indicate that rotational excitation of H2O(000) with Evib>1000 cm-1 occurs for one in 31 picoline/water collisions and one in 17 lutidine/water collisions. Comparison with earlier quenching studies on pyrazine [M. Fraelich, M. S. Elioff, and A. S. Mullin, J. Phys. Chem. 102, 9761 (1998)] and pyridine [M. S. Elioff, M. Fraelich, R. L. Sansom, and A. S. Mullin, J. Chem. Phys. 111, 3517 (1999)] indicate that, for the same initial internal energy in the hot donor, the extent of rotational excitation in water is diminished as the number of vibrational modes in the donor increases. The energy transfer probability for this pathway exhibits opposite behavior, with the larger donor molecules being more likely to excite the high energy rotations in water. These results are interpreted using a statistical description of the high energy donors and highlight the role of low frequency vibrational modes in the vibrationally hot donor molecules. A Fermi's golden rule approach is successful at explaining differences in the observed scattering dynamics for the various donor molecules.

Theoretical insights into the photo-protective mechanisms of natural biological sunscreens: building blocks of eumelanin and pheomelanin.

PubMed

Marchetti, Barbara; Karsili, Tolga N V

2016-02-07

Eumelanin (EM) and pheomelanin (PM) are ubiquitous in mammalian skin and hair--protecting against harmful radiation from the sun. Their primary roles are to absorb solar radiation and efficiently dissipate the excess excited state energy in the form of heat without detriment to the polymeric structure. EU and PM exist as polymeric chains consisting of exotic arrangements of functionalised heteroaromatic molecules. Here we have used state-of-the-art electronic structure calculations and on-the-fly surface hopping molecular dynamics simulations to study the intrinsic deactivation paths of various building blocks of EU and PM. Ultrafast excited state decay, via electron-driven proton transfer (in EU and PM) and proton-transfer coupled ring-opening (in PM) reactions, have been identified to proceed along hitherto unknown charge-separated states in EU and PM oligomers. These results shed light on the possible relaxation pathways that dominate the photochemistry of natural skin melanins. Extrapolation of such findings could provide a gateway into engineering more effective molecular constituents in commercial sunscreens--with reduced phototoxicity.

Theoretical research on the spin-Hamiltonian parameters of the rhombic W5+ centers in CaWO4:Y3+ crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mei, Yang; Wei, Cheng-Fu; Zheng, Wen-Chen

2016-02-01

Detailed theoretical calculations for the spin-Hamiltonian parameters (g factors gi and hyperfine structure constants Ai, where i=x, y, z) of the rhombic W5+ center in CaWO4:Y3+ crystal are performed by using the high-order perturbation formulas for d1 ions in rhombic tetrahedral clusters with the ground state |dz2>. These formulas consist of the contributions from two mechanisms, the crystal-field (CF) mechanism connected with CF excited states in the vastly-used CF theory and the frequently-neglected charge-transfer (CT) mechanism related to CT excited states. The calculated results agree well with the experimental values. The calculations indicate that for W5+ ion (or other high valence state dn ions) in crystals, the model calculations of spin-Hamiltonian parameters should take both the CF and CT mechanisms into account. The signs of hyperfine structure constants Ai are suggested and the forming (or defect model) of rhombic W5+ center in CaWO4:Y3+ crystal is confirmed from the calculations.

Resonance between a Prolate and a Superprolate Structure of the 162Er Nucleus

PubMed Central

Pauling, Linus; Blethen, John

1974-01-01

Observed energy levels of 162Er from the normal state J = 0 to the excited rotational state J = 18 correspond to values of the moment of inertia and rotational frequency that indicate that a pronounced change in structure occurs at about J = 14. It is shown that the observed values agree well with the values calculated on the assumption that there is resonance between a more stable prolate structure with a core of two spherons and a less stable superprolate structure with a core of three spherons in line. PMID:16592173

Vibronic relaxation dynamics of o-dichlorobenzene in its lowest excited singlet state

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Benkang; Zhao, Haiyan; Lin, Xiang; Li, Xinxin; Gao, Mengmeng; Wang, Li; Wang, Wei

2018-01-01

Vibronic dynamics of o-dichlorobenzene in its lowest excited singlet state, S1, is investigated in real time by using femtosecond pump-probe method, combined with time-of-flight mass spectroscopy and photoelectron velocity mapping technique. Relaxation processes for the excitation in the range of 276-252 nm can be fitted by single exponential decay model, while in the case of wavelength shorter than 252 nm two-exponential decay model must be adopted for simulating transient profiles. Lifetime constants of the vibrationally excited S1 states change from 651 ± 10 ps for 276 nm excitation to 61 ± 1 ps for 242 nm excitation. Both the internal conversion from the S1 to the highly vibrationally excited ground state S0 and the intersystem crossing from the S1 to the triplet state are supposed to play important roles in de-excitation processes. Exponential fitting of the de-excitation rates on the excitation energy implies such de-excitation process starts from the highly vibrationally excited S0 state, which is validated, by probing the relaxation following photoexcitation at 281 nm, below the S1 origin. Time-dependent photoelectron kinetic energy distributions have been obtained experimentally. As the excitation wavelength changes from 276 nm to 242 nm, different cationic vibronic vibrations can be populated, determined by the Franck-Condon factors between the large geometry distorted excited singlet states and final cationic states.

Coulomb excitation of the proton-dripline nucleus Na20

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schumaker, M. A.; Cline, D.; Hackman, G.; Pearson, C. J.; Svensson, C. E.; Wu, C. Y.; Andreyev, A.; Austin, R. A. E.; Ball, G. C.; Bandyopadhyay, D.; Becker, J. A.; Boston, A. J.; Boston, H. C.; Buchmann, L.; Churchman, R.; Cifarelli, F.; Cooper, R. J.; Cross, D. S.; Dashdorj, D.; Demand, G. A.; Dimmock, M. R.; Drake, T. E.; Finlay, P.; Gallant, A. T.; Garrett, P. E.; Green, K. L.; Grint, A. N.; Grinyer, G. F.; Harkness, L. J.; Hayes, A. B.; Kanungo, R.; Lisetskiy, A. F.; Leach, K. G.; Lee, G.; Maharaj, R.; Martin, J.-P.; Moisan, F.; Morton, A. C.; Mythili, S.; Nelson, L.; Newman, O.; Nolan, P. J.; Orce, J. N.; Padilla-Rodal, E.; Phillips, A. A.; Porter-Peden, M.; Ressler, J. J.; Roy, R.; Ruiz, C.; Sarazin, F.; Scraggs, D. P.; Waddington, J. C.; Wan, J. M.; Whitbeck, A.; Williams, S. J.; Wong, J.

2009-10-01

The low-energy structure of the proton dripline nucleus Na20 has been studied using Coulomb excitation at the TRIUMF-ISAC radioactive ion beam facility. A 1.7-MeV/nucleon Na20 beam of ~5×106 ions/s was Coulomb excited by a 0.5-mg/cm2natTi target. Scattered beam and target particles were detected by the BAMBINO segmented Si detector while γ rays were detected by two TIGRESS HPGe clover detectors set perpendicular to the beam axis. Coulomb excitation from the 2+ ground state to the first excited 3+ and 4+ states was observed, and B(λL) values were determined using the 2+→0+ de-excitation in Ti48 as a reference. The resulting B(λL)↓ values are B(E2;3+→2+)=55±6e2fm4 (17.0±1.9 W.u.), B(E2;4+→2+)=35.7±5.7e2fm4 (11.1±1.8 W.u.), and B(M1;4+→3+)=0.154±0.030μN2 (0.086±0.017 W.u.). These measurements provide the first experimental determination of B(λL) values for this proton dripline nucleus of astrophysical interest.

Stimulated emission of surface plasmons by electron tunneling in metal-barrier-metal structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Siu, D. P.; Gustafson, T. K.

1978-01-01

It is shown that correlation currents arising from the superposition of pairs of states on distinct sides of a potential barrier in metal-barrier-metal structures can result in inelastic tunneling through the emission of surface plasmons. Net gain of an externally excited plasmon field is possible.

Investigation of the electronic structure of Be2+He and Be+He, and static dipole polarisabilities of the helium atom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dhiflaoui, J.; Bejaoui, M.; Farjallah, M.; Berriche, H.

2018-05-01

The potential energy and spectroscopic constants of the ground and many excited states of the Be+He van der Waals system have been investigated using a one-electron pseudo-potential approach, which is used to replace the effect of the Be2+ core and the electron-He interactions by effective potentials. Furthermore, the core-core interactions are incorporated. This permits the reduction of the number of active electrons of the Be+He van der Waals system to only one electron. Therefore, the potential energy of the ground state as well as the excited states is performed at the SCF level and considering the spin-orbit interaction. The core-core interaction for Be2+He ground state is included using accurate CCSD (T) calculations. Then, the spectroscopic properties of the Be+He electronic states are extracted and compared with the previous theoretical and experimental studies. This comparison has shown a very good agreement for the ground and the first excited states. Moreover, the transition dipole moment has been determined for a large and dense grid of internuclear distances including the spin orbit effect. In addition, a vibrational spacing analysis for the Be2+He and Be+He ground states is performed to extract the He atomic polarisability.

Theoretical Insights Into the Excited State Double Proton Transfer Mechanism of Deep Red Pigment Alkannin.

PubMed

Zhao, Jinfeng; Dong, Hao; Zheng, Yujun

2018-02-08

As the most important component of deep red pigments, alkannin is investigated theoretically in detail based on time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) method. Exploring the dual intramolecular hydrogen bonds (O1-H2···O3 and O4-H5···O6) of alkannin, we confirm the O1-H2···O3 may play a more important role in the first excited state than the O4-H5···O6 one. Infrared (IR) vibrational analyses and subsequent charge redistribution also support this viewpoint. Via constructing the S 1 -state potential energy surface (PES) and searching transition state (TS) structures, we illuminate the excited state double proton transfer (ESDPT) mechanism of alkannin is the stepwise process that can be first launched by the O1-H2···O3 hydrogen bond wire in gas state, acetonitrile (CH 3 CN) and cyclohexane (CYH) solvents. We present a novel mechanism that polar aprotic solvents can contribute to the first-step proton transfer (PT) process in the S 1 state, and nonpolar solvents play important roles in lowering the potential energy barrier of the second-step PT reaction.

Electrically tunable robust edge states in graphene-based topological photonic crystal slabs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Zidong; Liu, HongJun; Huang, Nan; Wang, ZhaoLu

2018-03-01

Topological photonic crystals are optical structures supporting topologically protected unidirectional edge states that exhibit robustness against defects. Here, we propose a graphene-based all-dielectric photonic crystal slab structure that supports two-dimensionally confined topological edge states. These topological edge states can be confined in the out-of-plane direction by two parallel graphene sheets. In the structure, the excitation frequency range of topological edge states can be dynamically and continuously tuned by varying bias voltage across the two parallel graphene sheets. Utilizing this kind of architecture, we construct Z-shaped channels to realize topological edge transmission with diffrerent frequencies. The proposal provides a new degree of freedom to dynamically control topological edge states and potential applications for robust integrated photonic devices and optical communication systems.

Insights into the deactivation of 5-bromouracil after ultraviolet excitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peccati, Francesca; Mai, Sebastian; González, Leticia

2017-03-01

5-Bromouracil is a nucleobase analogue that can replace thymine in DNA strands and acts as a strong radiosensitizer, with potential applications in molecular biology and cancer therapy. Here, the deactivation of 5-bromouracil after ultraviolet irradiation is investigated in the singlet and triplet manifold by accurate quantum chemistry calculations and non-adiabatic dynamics simulations. It is found that, after irradiation to the bright ππ* state, three main relaxation pathways are, in principle, possible: relaxation back to the ground state, intersystem crossing (ISC) and C-Br photodissociation. Based on accurate MS-CASPT2 optimizations, we propose that ground-state relaxation should be the predominant deactivation pathway in the gas phase. We then employ different electronic structure methods to assess their suitability to carry out excited-state dynamics simulations. MRCIS (multi-reference configuration interaction including single excitations) was used in surface hopping simulations to compute the ultrafast ISC dynamics, which mostly involves the 1nOπ* and 3ππ* states. This article is part of the themed issue 'Theoretical and computational studies of non-equilibrium and non-statistical dynamics in the gas phase, in the condensed phase and at interfaces'.

N-representability-driven reconstruction of the two-electron reduced-density matrix for a real-time time-dependent electronic structure method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeffcoat, David B.; DePrince, A. Eugene

2014-12-01

Propagating the equations of motion (EOM) for the one-electron reduced-density matrix (1-RDM) requires knowledge of the corresponding two-electron RDM (2-RDM). We show that the indeterminacy of this expression can be removed through a constrained optimization that resembles the variational optimization of the ground-state 2-RDM subject to a set of known N-representability conditions. Electronic excitation energies can then be obtained by propagating the EOM for the 1-RDM and following the dipole moment after the system interacts with an oscillating external electric field. For simple systems with well-separated excited states whose symmetry differs from that of the ground state, excitation energies obtained from this method are comparable to those obtained from full configuration interaction computations. Although the optimized 2-RDM satisfies necessary N-representability conditions, the procedure cannot guarantee a unique mapping from the 1-RDM to the 2-RDM. This deficiency is evident in the mean-field-quality description of transitions to states of the same symmetry as the ground state, as well as in the inability of the method to describe Rabi oscillations.

Insights into the deactivation of 5-bromouracil after ultraviolet excitation

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

5-Bromouracil is a nucleobase analogue that can replace thymine in DNA strands and acts as a strong radiosensitizer, with potential applications in molecular biology and cancer therapy. Here, the deactivation of 5-bromouracil after ultraviolet irradiation is investigated in the singlet and triplet manifold by accurate quantum chemistry calculations and non-adiabatic dynamics simulations. It is found that, after irradiation to the bright ππ* state, three main relaxation pathways are, in principle, possible: relaxation back to the ground state, intersystem crossing (ISC) and C–Br photodissociation. Based on accurate MS-CASPT2 optimizations, we propose that ground-state relaxation should be the predominant deactivation pathway in the gas phase. We then employ different electronic structure methods to assess their suitability to carry out excited-state dynamics simulations. MRCIS (multi-reference configuration interaction including single excitations) was used in surface hopping simulations to compute the ultrafast ISC dynamics, which mostly involves the 1nOπ* and 3ππ* states. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Theoretical and computational studies of non-equilibrium and non-statistical dynamics in the gas phase, in the condensed phase and at interfaces’. PMID:28320905

Long-Lived Photoinduced Charge Separation in a Trinuclear Iron-μ 3 -oxo-based Metal–Organic Framework

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hanna, Lauren; Kucheryavy, Pavel; Liu, Cunming

2017-06-14

The presence of long-lived charge-separated excited states in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) can enhance their photocatalytic activity by decreasing the probability that photogenerated electrons and holes recombine before accessing adsorbed reactants. Detecting these charge separated states via optical transient absorption, however, can be challenging when they lack definitive optical signatures. Here, we investigate the long-lived excited state of a MOF with such vague optical properties, MIL-100(Fe), comprised of Fe3-μ3-oxo clusters and trimesic acid linkers using Fe K-edge X-ray transient absorption (XTA) spectroscopy, to unambiguously determine its ligand-to-metal charge transfer character. Spectra measured at time delays up to 3.6 μs confirm themore » long lived nature of the charge separated excited state. Several trinuclear iron μ3- oxo carboxylate complexes, which model the trinuclear cores of the MOF structure, are measured for comparison using both steady state XAS and XTA to further support this assignment and corresponding decay time. The MOF is prepared as a colloidal nanoparticle suspension for these measurements so both its fabrication and particle size analysis are presented, as well.« less

Enhancement of Curie temperature of barium hexaferrite by dense electronic excitations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sharma, Manju; Kashyap, Subhash C.; Gupta, Hem C.

2014-07-15

Curie temperature of polycrystalline barium hexaferrite (BaFe{sub 12}O{sub 19}), prepared by conventional solid state technique, is anomalously and significantly enhanced (by nearly 15%) by energetic heavy ion irradiation (150 MeV, Ag{sup 12+}) at ambient temperature due to dense electronic excitations Moderate fluence (1 × 10{sup 12} ions/cm{sup 2}) induces structural defects giving rise to above enhancement. As established by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and Raman studies, higher fluence (1 × 10{sup 13} ions/cm{sup 2}) has structurally transformed the sample to amorphous phase with marginal change in magnetization and Curie temperature.

Multiple hydrogen bonding in excited states of aminopyrazine in methanol solution: time-dependent density functional theory study.

PubMed

Chai, Shuo; Yu, Jie; Han, Yong-Chang; Cong, Shu-Lin

2013-11-01

Aminopyrazine (AP) and AP-methanol complexes have been theoretically studied by using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). The excited-state hydrogen bonds are discussed in detail. In the ground state the intermolecular multiple hydrogen bonds can be formed between AP molecule and protic solvents. The AP monomer and hydrogen-bonded complex of AP with one methanol are photoexcited initially to the S2 state, and then transferred to the S1 state via internal conversion. However the complex of AP with two methanol molecules is directly excited to the S1 state. From the calculated electronic excited energies and simulated absorption spectra, we find that the intermolecular hydrogen bonds are strengthened in the electronic excited states. The strengthening is confirmed by the optimized excited-state geometries. The photochemical processes in the electronic excited states are significantly influenced by the excited-state hydrogen bond strengthening. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Final Technical Report for DE-SC0001878 [Theory and Simulation of Defects in Oxide Materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chelikowsky, James R.

2014-04-14

We explored a wide variety of oxide materials and related problems, including materials at the nanoscale and generic problems associated with oxide materials such as the development of more efficient computational tools to examine these materials. We developed and implemented methods to understand the optical and structural properties of oxides. For ground state properties, our work is predominantly based on pseudopotentials and density functional theory (DFT), including new functionals and going beyond the local density approximation (LDA): LDA+U. To study excited state properties (quasiparticle and optical excitations), we use time dependent density functional theory, the GW approach, and GW plusmore » Bethe-Salpeter equation (GW-BSE) methods based on a many-body Green function approaches. Our work focused on the structural, electronic, optical and magnetic properties of defects (such as oxygen vacancies) in hafnium oxide, titanium oxide (both bulk and clusters) and related materials. We calculated the quasiparticle defect states and charge transition levels of oxygen vacancies in monoclinic hafnia. we presented a milestone G0W0 study of two of the crystalline phases of dye-sensitized TiO{sub 2} clusters. We employed hybrid density functional theory to examine the electronic structure of sexithiophene/ZnO interfaces. To identify the possible effect of epitaxial strain on stabilization of the ferromagnetic state of LaCoO{sub 3} (LCO), we compare the total energy of the magnetic and nonmagnetic states of the strained theoretical bulk structure.« less

Photodynamics of oxybenzone sunscreen: Nonadiabatic dynamics simulations.

PubMed

Li, Chun-Xiang; Guo, Wei-Wei; Xie, Bin-Bin; Cui, Ganglong

2016-08-21

Herein we have used combined static electronic structure calculations and "on-the-fly" global-switching trajectory surface-hopping dynamics simulations to explore the photochemical mechanism of oxybenzone sunscreen. We have first employed the multi-configurational CASSCF method to optimize minima, conical intersections, and minimum-energy reaction paths related to excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) and excited-state decays in the (1)ππ(∗), (1)nπ(∗), and S0 states (energies are refined at the higher MS-CASPT2 level). According to the mapped potential energy profiles, we have identified two ultrafast excited-state deactivation pathways for the initially populated (1)ππ(∗) system. The first is the diabatic ESIPT process along the (1)ππ(∗) potential energy profile. The generated (1)ππ(∗) keto species then decays to the S0 state via the keto (1)ππ(∗)/gs conical intersection. The second is internal conversion to the dark (1)nπ(∗) state near the (1)ππ(∗) /(1)nπ(∗) crossing point in the course of the diabatic (1)ππ(∗) ESIPT process. Our following dynamics simulations have shown that the ESIPT and (1)ππ(∗) → S0 internal conversion times are 104 and 286 fs, respectively. Finally, our present work demonstrates that in addition to the ESIPT process and the (1)ππ(∗) → S0 internal conversion in the keto region, the (1)ππ(∗) → (1)nπ(∗) internal conversion in the enol region plays as well an important role for the excited-state relaxation dynamics of oxybenzone.