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Perry, David S.

Publications and source records attributed to Perry, David S..

High-resolution infrared spectroscopy of the asymmetric NO stretch band of jet-cooled nitromethane and assignment of the lowest four torsional states

A high-throughput CW slit-jet apparatus coupled to a high-resolution FTIR was used to record the asymmetric NO stretch band of nitromethane. The b-type band, including torsionally excited states with m ≤ 3, has been assigned for Ka" ≤ 10, J" ≤ 20. The ground state combination differences derived from these assigned levels were fit with the RAM36 program to give an RMS deviation of 0.0006 cm-1. The band origin is 1583.0 (+/- 0.1) cm-1 and the torsional level spacing is nearly identical to that in the ground state. The upper state levels are split into multiplets by perturbations. A subset of the available upper state combination differences for m = 0, Ka' ≤ 7, J' ≤ 10 were fit with the same program, but with rather poorer precision (0.01 cm-1) than for the ground state.

Dawadi, Mahesh B.↗

An extended E$\otimes$e Jahn-Teller Hamiltonian for large-amplitude motion: Application to vibrational conical intersections in CH 3 SH and CH 3 OH

An extended E$\otimes$e Jahn-Teller Hamiltonian is presented for the case where the (slow) nuclear motion extends far from the symmetry point and may be described approximately as motion on a sphere. Rather than the traditional power series expansion in the displacement from the C 3v symmetry point, an expansion in the spherical harmonics is employed. Application is made to the vibrational Jahn-Teller effect in CH 3 XH, with X = S, O, where the equilibrium CXH angles are 83° and 72°, respectively. In addition to the symmetry-required conical intersection (CI) at the C 3v symmetry point, ab initio calculations reveal sets of six symmetry-allowed vibrational CIs in each molecule. The CIs for each molecule are arranged differently in the large-amplitude space, and that difference is reflected in the infrared spectra. The CIs in CH 3 SH are found in both eclipsed and staggered geometries, whereas those for CH 3 OH are found only in the eclipsed geometry near the torsional saddle point. Finally, this difference between the two molecules is reflected in the respective high-resolution spectra in the CH stretch fundamental region.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

The Dynamics of Large-Amplitude Motion in Energized Molecules

Chemical reactions involve large-amplitude nuclear motion along the reaction coordinate that serves to distinguish reactants from products. Some reactions, such as roaming reactions and reactions proceeding through a loose transition state, involve more than one large-amplitude degree of freedom. Because of the limitation of exact quantum nuclear dynamics to small systems, one must, in general, define the active degrees of freedom and separate them in some way from the other degrees of freedom. In this project, we use large-amplitude motion in bound model systems to investigate the coupling of large-amplitude degrees of freedom to other nuclear degrees of freedom. This approach allows us to use the precision and power of high-resolution molecular spectroscopy to probe the specific coupling mechanisms involved, and to apply the associated theoretical tools. In addition to slit-jet spectra at the University of Akron, the current project period has involved collaboration with Michel Herman and Nathalie Vaeck of the Université Libre de Bruxelles, and with Brant Billinghurst at the Canadian Light Source (CLS).

02 PETROLEUM↗

A Characterization Of Alcohol Fuel Vapor For Wavelength Modulation Spectroscopy Applied To Microgravity Flame Spread

A diode laser diagnostic is being developed for use in an ongoing investigation of flame spread in microgravity at NASA Glenn Research Center. Flame spread rates through non-homogenous gas mixtures are significantly different in a microgravity environment because of buoyancy and possibly hydrostatic pressure effects. These effects contribute to the fuel vapor concentration ahead of the flame being altered so that flame spread is more rapid in microgravity. This paper describes spectral transmission measurements made through mixtures of alcohol, water vapor, and nitrogen in a gas cell that was designed and built to allow measurements at temperatures up to 500 C. The alcohols considered are methanol, ethanol, and n-propanol. The basic technique of wavelength modulation spectroscopy for gas species measurements in microgravity was developed by Silver et al. For this technique to be applicable, one must carefully choose the spectral features over which the diode laser is modulated to provide good sensitivity and minimize interference from other molecular lines such as those in water. Because the methanol spectrum was not known with sufficient resolution in the wavelength region of interest, our first task was to perform high-resolution transmission measurements with an FTIR spectrometer for methanol vapor in nitrogen, followed recently by ethanol and n-propanol. A computer program was written to generate synthesized data to mimic that expected from the experiment using the laser diode, and results from that simulation are also presented.

Kulis, Michael J.↗