Search results for "Surface hopping"

The role of the low-lying dark np* states in the photophysics of pyrazine: a quantum dynamics study

2014

The excited state dynamics of pyrazine has attracted considerable attention in the last three decades. It has long been recognized that after UV excitation, the dynamics of the molecule is impacted by strong non-adiabatic effects due to the existence of a conical intersection between the B2u(ππ*) and B3u(nπ*) electronic states. However, a recent study based on trajectory surface hopping dynamics simulations suggested the participation of the Au(nπ*) and B2g(nπ*) low-lying dark electronic states in the ultrafast radiationless decay of the molecule after excitation to the B2u(ππ*) state. The purpose of this work was to pursue the investigation of the role of the Au(nπ*) and B2g(nπ*) states in…

2016

The photochemistry of benzophenone, a paradigmatic organic molecule for photosensitization, was investigated by means of surface-hopping ab initio molecular dynamics. Different mechanisms were found to be relevant within the first 600 fs after excitation; the long-debated direct (S1 → T1) and indirect (S1 → T2 → T1) mechanisms for population of the low-lying triplet state are both possible, with the latter being prevalent. Moreover, we established the existence of a kinetic equilibrium between the two triplet states, never observed before. This fact implies that a significant fraction of the overall population resides in T2, eventually allowing one to revisit the usual spectroscopic assignm…

On the FCNS⇆FC(NS) reaction: A matrix isolation and theoretical study

2015

Abstract The FCNS ⇆ FC(NS) photoisomerization process is a simple model system for molecular switches. Here, we examined the switching processes by experimental and theoretical methods. Prior matrix-isolation IR spectroscopic studies were complemented by matrix-isolation UV spectroscopic measurements to assist the interpretation of the mechanism of the ring closure and opening processes and to verify the accuracy of the computations on the vertical excitation energies. Vertical excitation energies were computed by the EOMEE-CCSD, MCSCF, and MR-CISD methods. Conical intersections were also searched for and three conical intersections along the reaction path FCNS → FC(NS) were located, one co…

Surface Hopping Dynamics Including Intersystem Crossing using the Algebraic Diagrammatic Construction Method

2017

We report an implementation for employing the algebraic diagrammatic construction to second order [ADC(2)] ab initio electronic structure level of theory in nonadiabatic dynamics simulations in the framework of the SHARC (surface hopping including arbitrary couplings) dynamics method. The implementation is intended to enable computationally efficient, reliable, and easy-to-use nonadiabatic dynamics simulations of intersystem crossing in organic molecules. The methodology is evaluated for the 2-thiouracil molecule. It is shown that ADC(2) yields reliable excited-state energies, wave functions, and spin-orbit coupling terms for this molecule. Dynamics simulations are compared to previously re…

Steering the excited state dynamics of a photoactive yellow protein chromophore analogue with external electric fields

2014

Abstract The first excited state of the Photoactive Yellow Protein chromophore exhibits a strong charge transfer character and the dipole moments of the excited and ground states differ significantly. Furthermore, the excited state charge distribution changes during the isomerization of this chromophore. These observations suggest that external electric fields can be used to control photo-isomerization, providing a new concept for developing photochromic devices, such as e-paper or optical memory. To test this idea, we performed excited state dynamics simulations and static calculations of a PYP chromophore analogue (pCK − ) in an external electric field. By adjusting direction and strength…

A surface hopping algorithm for nonadiabatic minimum energy path calculations

2015

The article introduces a robust algorithm for the computation of minimum energy paths transiting along regions of near-to or degeneracy of adiabatic states. The method facilitates studies of excited state reactivity involving weakly avoided crossings and conical intersections. Based on the analysis of the change in the multiconfigurational wave function the algorithm takes the decision whether the optimization should continue following the same electronic state or switch to a different state. This algorithm helps to overcome convergence difficulties near degeneracies. The implementation in the MOLCAS quantum chemistry package is discussed. To demonstrate the utility of the proposed procedur…