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Results for “ab initio calculations”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1978

Adhesion of a bimetallic interface

The Hohenberg-Kohn and Kohn-Sham formalisms are used to examine binding (binding energy as a function of separation) for combinations of the simple metals Al(111), Zn(0001), Mg(0001), and Na(110) in contact. Similar metal contacts between Al, Zn, Mg, and Na are examined self-consistently in an ab initio calculation using the Kohn-Sham formalism. Crystallinity is included using the Aschroft pseudopotential via first order perturbation theory for the electron-ion interaction; and the ion-ion interaction is included exactly via a lattice sum. Binding energy was determined both in the local-density approximation and including gradient corrections to the exchange and correlation energy. Binding was found in all cases. In dissimilar metal contacts, interfacial bonding was greater than that in the weaker material predicting the possibility of metallic transfer. The nonzero position of the energy minimum in like metal contacts is explained in terms of consistency between the Ashcroft pseudopotential and the bulk charge density. Good agreement with experimental surface energies is obtained in the self-consistent calculation when nonlocal terms are included.

Ferrante, J.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Ab initio studies of the electronic structure of UF6, UF6/+/, and UF6/-/ using relativistic effective core potentials

The paper presents ab initio calculations performed on the electronic states of UF6, UF6(+), and UF6(-) using a relativistic effective core potential (ECP) for uranium and a nonrelativistic ECP for fluorine. In most of the calculations 56 valence electrons are treated explicitly using a contracted (3s 3p 2d 2f/2s2p) Gaussian basis. It is noted that various ECP's were explored, but all yield an overall charge density of U(+2.4)/F(-0.4)/6. In addition, the bonding in the ground state of UF6 is discussed. SCF and CI calculations on UF6(+) are compared with the experimental photoelectron spectrum and with previous scattered wave calculations. Further, the role of spin-orbit coupling in the states of UF6(+) and UF6(-) is covered. Finally, it is concluded that the calculated electron affinity of UF6 (7.1 eV) is considerably larger than in current experimental estimates, but the relative energies of the states of UF6(-) are in agreement (0.1-0.2 eV) with those of the experiment.

Hay, P. J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Theory of metal atom-water interactions and alkali halide dimers

Theoretical studies of the interactions of metal atoms with water and some of its isoelectronic analogs, and of the properties of alkali halides and their aggregates are discussed. Results are presented of ab initio calculations of the heats of reaction of the metal-water adducts and hydroxyhydrides of Li, Be, B, Na, Mg, and Al, and of the bond lengths and angles an; the heats of reaction for the insertion of Al into HF, H2O, NH3, H2S and CH3OH, and Be and Mg into H2O. Calculations of the electron affinities and dipole moments and polarizabilities of selected gas phase alkali halide monomers and dimers are discussed, with particular attention given to results of calculations of the polarizability of LiF taking into account electron correlation effects, and the polarizability of the dimer (LiF)2.

Jordan, K. D.↗
NASA NTRS1983

The doubly excited autoionizing states of H2

Neutral doubly excited states of H2 lie in the Franck-Condon region at energies beyound 23 eV above the ground state of H2. These repulsive resonance states may autoionize yielding H2(+) + e(-), H + H(+) + e(-) or dissociate to neutral ground and excited H atoms or H(+) + H(-). These processes are important in determining the thermal balance of interstellar clouds and the chemistry of the Jovian atmosphere. The present investigation is concerned with ab initio calculations of 24 autoionizing states of H2 which have mostly the 2 Sigma u + and first excited 2 Pi u states of H2(+) as the core orbital near R = 1. 4a(0). Of the 24 states reported, 14 have not appeared previously in the literature. For four of the remaining ten states an energy at only a single internuclear distance has been previously reported.

Guberman, S. L.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Analysis of the far infrared H2-He spectrum

Previous measurements of the far infrared absorption due to H2-He collisions at the temperatures of 77, 195, and 292 K are analyzed. The spectra are fitted by a semiempirical line shape representing the isotropic induced overlap component and combined anisotropic quadrupolar and overlap components. The experimental spectral moments are evaluated and compared with theory for several induced-dipole and potential models. From the isotropic contribution, the range and strength of the induced dipole is evaluated and compared with the results of ab initio calculations. Fitting parameters are obtained with physically plausible temperature dependences which allow simple and accurate representation of the spectra and of their moments at temperatures different from those of the measurements.

Cohen, E. R.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Determination of accurate dissociation limits and interatomic interactions at large internuclear distances

This paper illustrates (using the molecules LiH, Li2 and Na2) how laser-induced fluorescence can be used to greatly expand the range of observed vibrational levels in ground electronic states. This expanded vibrational range leads to the determination of virtually the full well of the potential energy curve. This also leads to improved determination of the dissociation limit and serves as a severe test for highly accurate ab initio calculations now available for many small molecules.

Stwalley, W. C.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Electron affinities of the alkali dimers - Na2, K2, and Rb2

Ab initio calculations on the ground states of the alkali dimers, Na2, K2, and Rb2, and their anions are reported. The calculations employ large Gaussian basis sets and account for nearly all of the valence correlation energy. The calculated atomic electron affinities are within 0.02 eV of experiment and the calculated adiabatic electron affinities for Na2, K2, and Rb2 are, respectively, 0.470, 0.512, and 0.513 eV.

Partridge, H.↗
NASA NTRS1984

A measurement of the vibrational band strength for the v3 band of the HO2 radical

Laboratory measurements of the v(3) band strength of HO2 using a tunable diode laser to measure the absorption strength of a vibration-rotation line in the P branch near 1080/cm are reported. The HO2 is generated in a discharge-flow system by reaction of fluorine atoms with excess H2O2: F + H2O2 - HO2 + HF. The HO2 concentration is determined from measurements of F-atom concentrations using both chemical titration with Cl2 and tunable diode laser absorption by the F-atom spin-orbit transition near 404/cm. The experimental data are consistent with a value of k(3) = (1.6 + or - 0.3) x 10 to the 12th cu cm/s and a ratio k(4)/k(1) = 1.0 + or - 0.4. The line strength for the 6(15) - 7(16)F(1) transition is 2.9 x 10 to the -21 sq cm/molecule/cm, which corresponds to a v(3) band strength of 35 + or - 9/sq cm/(STP atm). This value is a factor of 1.6 to 6 lower than previous ab initio calculations.

Zahniser, M. S.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Calculation of pressure-broadened linewidths for CO in Ar

Calculations of the pressure-broadening cross sections of CO in Ar have been made within the infinite-order sudden (IOS) and coupled states (CS) quantum scattering approximations. Two intermolecular potentials were used, a pairwise additive atom-atom potential which has been employed previously in semiclassical (modified Anderson theory) studies of this system and one calculated ab initio within an electron gas formalism. Predictions from the two potentials generally agree within about 25 percent and bracket experimental values (except for some recent high temperature data obtained in shock tube experiments). The CS approximation appears to be quite accurate although computationally expensive. The much cheaper IOS approximation is accurate for the J = 0-1 line but does not properly predict the dependence on line number. The quantum results are also compared with earlier semiclassical values.

Green, S.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Theoretical dissociation energies for ionic molecules

Ab initio calculations at the self-consistent-field and singles plus doubles configuration-interaction level are used to determine accurate spectroscopic parameters for most of the alkali and alkaline-earth fluorides, chlorides, oxides, sulfides, hydroxides, and isocyanides. Numerical Hartree-Fock (NHF) calculations are performed on selected systems to ensure that the extended Slater basis sets employed for the diatomic systems are near the Hartree-Fock limit. Extended Gaussian basis sets of at least triple-zeta plus double polarization equality are employed for the triatomic system. With this model, correlation effects are relatively small, but invariably increase the theoretical dissociation energies. The importance of correlating the electrons on both the anion and the metal is discussed. The theoretical dissociation energies are critically compared with the literature to rule out disparate experimental values. Theoretical (sup 2)Pi - (sup 2)Sigma (sup +) energy separations are presented for the alkali oxides and sulfides.

Langhoff, S. R.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Theoretical study of the dipole moments of selected alkaline-earth halides

Ab initio calculations at the self-consistent-field (SCF), singles-plus-doubles configuration-interaction (SDCI), and coupled-pair functional (CPF) level, are reported for the dipole moments and dipole derivatives of the X2Sigma(+) ground states of BeF, BeCl, MgF, MgCl, CaF, CaCl, and SrF. For comparison, analogous calculations are performed for the X1Sigma(+) state of KCl. The CPF results are found to be in remarkably better agreement with experiment than are the SCF and SDCI results. Apparently higher excitations are required to properly describe the radial extent along the bond axis of the remaining valence electron on the alkaline-earth metal.

Langhoff, S. R.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Electron-nitrogen molecular collisions in high-temperature nonequilibrium air

Ab initio calculation of vibrational excitation and deexcitation cross sections of N2 by low energy resonant electron impact have been carried out. The calculation includes initial target state in v = 0-12 and final target state in v = 0-17. The calculated cross sections are found to agree with available experimental data to within reported experimental error. Effect of target rotation has been investigated. Comparison of vibrational excitation cross sections at J = 0, 50, and 150 shows that the major effect of target rotation is to lower the resonance energy. Vibrational excitation and deexcitation rate coefficients are tabulated for electron temperatures of 1100-55,000 K. The present tabulation supercedes an earlier compilation by the Naval Research Laboratory that was derived from experimental data with a factor-of-two error. The tabulated rate coefficients are suited for flowfield modeling of aeroassisted orbital transfer vehicles.

Huo, W. M.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Simulation studies for surfaces and materials strength

During this reporting period three investigations were carried out. The first area of research concerned the analysis of the structure-energy relationship in small clusters. This study is very closely related to the improvement of the potential energy functions which are suitable and simple enough to be used in atomistic simulation studies. Parameters obtained from ab initio calculations for dimers and trimers of Al were used to estimate energetics and global minimum energy structures of clusters continuing up to 15 Al atoms. The second research topic addressed modeling of the collision process for atoms impinging on surfaces. In this simulation study qualitative aspects of the O atom collision with a graphite surface were analyzed. Four different O/graphite systems were considered and the aftermath of the impact was analyzed. The final area of investigation was related to the simulation of thin amorphous Si films on crystalline Si substrates. Parameters obtained in an earlier study were used to model an exposed amorphous Si surface and an a-Si/c-Si interface. Structural details for various film thicknesses were investigated at an atomistic level.

Halicioglu, T.↗
NASA NTRS1987

The production of O(1D) from dissociative recombination of O2(+)

The results of large scale ab initio calculations of the rates for production of O(1D) by dissociative combination of O2(+) are presented for electron temperatures in the range 100 to 3000 K. A 1-delta-u state is the dominant dissociative route from v = 0 and a 3-sigma-u(-) state is the most important route from v = 1 and v = 2. The calculated total rate for O(1D) production from v = 0 is 2.21(+0.21,-0.24) x 10(-7) x (T sub e/300) exp -.46 near room temperature. The v = 1 and v = 2 rates are about 17% and 47% smaller respectively, than the v = 0 rate at 300 K.

Guberman, Steven L.↗
NASA NTRS1986

A model of the Schumann-Runge continuum of O2

Ab initio calculations of the B3Sigma sub u(-) potential energy curve of O2 are reported together with the transition moment connecting the B3Sigma sub u(-) and the ground electronic states. Photodissociation cross sections are presented over the wavelength region 127-152 nm. Small adjustments to the potential energy curve and the transition moment lead to a model of the absorption which agrees well with the experimental cross sections and which reproduces the structural features observed on the high-energy edge. The shoulder at 135.6 nm is attributed to the lowest 3Pi sub u state and the auxiliary maxima to transitions into the B3Sigma sub u(-) state.

Allison, A. C.↗
NASA NTRS1987

(2 + 1) resonant enhanced multiphoton ionization of H2 via the E,F 1Sigma(+)g state

In this paper, the results of ab initio calculations of photoelectron angular distributions and vibrational branching ratios for the (2 + 1) resonant enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) of H2 via the E,F 1Sigma(+)g state are reported, and these are compared with the experimental data of Anderson et al. (1984). These results show that the observed non-Franck-Condon behavior is predominantly due to the R dependence of the transition matrix elements, and to a lesser degree to the energy dependence. This work presents the first molecular REMPI study employing a correlated wave function to describe the Rydberg-valence mixing in the resonant intermediate state.

Rudolph, H.↗