Search NASA⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Schoendorff, George

Publications and source records attributed to Schoendorff, George.

Spin–orbit coupling of electrons on separate lanthanide atoms of Pr 2 O 2 and its singly charged cation

Although it plays a critical role in the photophysics and catalysis of lanthanides, spin–orbit coupling of electrons on individual lanthanide atoms in small clusters is not well understood. The major objective of this work is to probe such coupling of the praseodymium (Pr) 4f and 6s electrons in Pr 2 O 2 and Pr 2 O 2 +. The approach combines mass-analyzed threshold ionization spectroscopy and spin–orbit multiconfiguration second-order quasi-degenerate perturbation theory. The energies of six ionization transitions are precisely measured; the adiabatic ionization energy of the neutral cluster is 38 045 (5) cm –1 . Most of the electronic states involved in these transitions are identified as spin–orbit coupled states consisting of two or more electron spins. The electron configurations of these states are 4f 4 6s 2 for the neutral cluster and 4 f 46 s for the singly charged cation, both in planar rhombus-type structures. Finally, the spin–orbit splitting due to the coupling of the electrons on the separate Pr atoms is on the order of hundreds of wavenumbers.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

The General Atomic and Molecular Electronic Structure System (GAMESS): Novel Methods on Novel Architectures

The primary focus of GAMESS over the last 5 years has been the development of new high-performance codes that are able to take effective and efficient advantage of the most advanced computer architectures, both CPU and accelerators. These efforts include employing density fitting and fragmentation methods to reduce the high scaling of well-correlated (e.g., coupled-cluster) methods as well as developing novel codes that can take optimal advantage of graphical processing units and other modern accelerators. Because accurate wave functions can be very complex, an important new functionality in GAMESS is the quasi-atomic orbital analysis, an unbiased approach to the understanding of covalent bonds embedded in the wave function. Finally, best practices for the maintenance and distribution of GAMESS are also discussed.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Electronic states and transitions of PrO and PrO + probed by threshold ionization spectroscopy and spin–orbit multiconfiguration perturbation theory

The precise ionization energy of praseodymium oxide (PrO) seeded in supersonic molecular beams is measured with mass-analyzed threshold ionization (MATI) spectroscopy. Here, a total of 33 spin–orbit (SO) states of PrO and 23 SO states of PrO + are predicted by second-order multiconfigurational quasi-degenerate perturbation (MCQDPT2) theory. Electronic transitions from four low-energy SO levels of the neutral molecule to the ground state of the singly charged cation are identified by combining the MATI spectroscopic measurements with the MCQDPT2 calculations. The precise ionization energy is used to reassess the ionization energies and the reaction enthalpies of the Pr + O → PrO + + e – chemi-ionization reaction reported in the literature. An empirical formula that uses atomic electronic parameters is proposed to predict the ionization energies of lanthanide monoxides, and the empirical calculations match well with available precise experimental measurements.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Excited states of lutetium oxide and its singly charged cation

Vibronic spectra of lutetium oxide (LuO) seeded in supersonic molecule beams are investigated with mass-analyzed threshold ionization (MATI) spectroscopy and second-order multiconfigurational quasi-degenerate perturbation (MCQDPT2) theory. Six states of LuO and four states of LuO + are located by the MCQDPT2 calculations, and an a 3 Π(LuO + ) ← C 2 Σ + (LuΟ) transition is observed by the MATI measurement. Finally, the vibronic spectra show abnormal vibrational intervals for both the neural and cation excited states, and the abnormality is attributed to vibrational perturbations induced by interactions with neighboring states.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗