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At least 91 records · Page 5

Spontaneous emission lifetimes in the ground electronic states of HD/+/ and H2/+/a

Because of their simplicity, H2(+) and its isotopic species are of particular interest to molecular theorists and experimentalists. If these ions are formed in excited vibrational states under conditions of highly improbable electron-ion recombination or other reactions, spontaneous emission will occur. The present note calculates the (vibrational quantum number, J prime = 0) state lifetimes under spontaneous emission for all 22 excited vibrations of HD(+) and all 19 excited vibrations of H2(+) in their ground electron states. The lifetimes presented in Tables I and III justify the assumption that spontaneous radiative processes are unimportant under certain realizable conditions. When spontaneous radiation plays a role, however, minimum lifetime at intermediate vibrational quantum number could lead to unusual vibrational distribution functions.

Peek, J. M.↗

Magnetic-field-induced nontrivial electronic state in the Kondo-lattice semimetal CeSb

Synergic effect of electronic correlation and spin-orbit coupling is an emerging topic in topological materials. Central to this rapidly developing area are the prototypes of strongly correlated heavy-fermion systems. Recently, some Ce-based compounds are proposed to host intriguing topological nature, among which the electronic properties of CeSb are still under debate. Herein, we report a comprehensive study combining magnetic and electronic transport measurements, and electronic band-structure calculations of this compound to identify its topological nature. Quantum oscillations are clearly observed in both magnetization and magnetoresistance at high fields, from which one pocket with a nontrivial Berry phase is recognized. Angular-dependent magnetoresistance shows that this pocket is elongated in nature and corresponds to the electron pocket as observed in LaBi. Nontrivial electronic structure of CeSb is further confirmed by first-principle calculations, which arises from spin splitting in the fully polarized ferromagnetic state. These features indicate that magnetic field can induce nontrivial topological electronic states in this prototypical Kondo semimetal.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Photophysical behavior of doubly bridged d7-d7 metal-metal bonded compounds - The crystal structure and the excited- and ground-state electronic spectra of Re2(CO)6(dmpm)2 (dmpm = bis/dimethylphosphino/ methane)

Re2(CO)6(dmpm)2 shows photophysical behavior in a rigid medium that differs dramatically from that observed in fluid solution. In a hydrocarbon glass at 77 K, metal-metal bond homolysis is suppressed and an intense phosphorescence is observed. The transient absorption spectrum, which shows only weak transitions to the red of the ground state 1(sigma-sigma asterisk) transition, permits assignment of the emitting state to a 3(sigma-sigma asterisk) transition. The crystal structure of Re2(CO)6(dmpm)2 is also reported. The ground-state electronic structure is discussed relative to the structural data.

Milder, Steven J.↗

Investigation of Key Electronic States in Layered Mixed Chalcogenides With a d 0 Transition Metal as Li-Ion Cathodes

Lithium-rich transition metal chalcogenides are witnessing a revival as candidates for Li-ion cathode materials, spurred by the boost in their capacities from transcending conventional redox processes based on cationic states and tapping into additional chalcogenide states. A particularly striking case is Li 2 TiS 3-y Se y , which features a d 0 metal. While the end members are expectedly inactive, substantial capacities are measured when both Se and S are present. Using X-ray absorption spectroscopy, it is shown that the electronic structure of Li 2 TiS 3-y Se y is not a simple combination of the end members. The data confirm previous hypotheses that, in Li 2 TiS 2.4 Se 0.6 , this behavior is underpinned by concurrent and reversible redox of only S and Se, and identify key electronic states. Moreover, wavelet transforms of the extended X-ray absorption fine structure provide direct evidence of the formation of short Se–Se units upon charging. The study uncovers the underpinnings of this intriguing reactivity and highlights the richness of redox chemistry in complex solids.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Water Defect Stabilizes the Bi 3+ Lone-Pair Electronic State Leading to an Unusual Aqueous Hydration Structure

In this work, the aqueous hydration structure of Bi 3+ is probed using a combination of extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) simulations of ion-water clusters and of condensed-phase solutions. Anomalous features in the EXAFS spectra are found to be associated with a highly asymmetric first-solvent water shell. The aqueous chemistry and structure of the Bi 3+ ion is dramatically controlled by the water stabilization of a lone-pair electronic state involving the mixed 6s and 6p orbitals. This leads to a distinct multi-modal distribution of waters in the first shell that are separated by about 0.2Å. The lone-pair structure is stabilized by a collective response of multiple waters that are localized near the lone-pair anti-bonding site. The findings indicate that the lone-pair stereochemistry of aqueous Bi 3+ plays a major role in the binding of water and ligands in aqueous solutions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Optimized Quantum Phase Estimation for Simulating Electronic States in Various Energy Regimes

While quantum algorithms for simulation exhibit better asymptotic scaling than their classical counterparts, they currently cannot be implemented on real-world devices. Instead, chemists and computer scientists rely on costly classical simulations of these quantum algorithms. In particular, the quantum phase estimation (QPE) algorithm is among several approaches that have attracted much attention in recent years for its genuine quantum character. However, it is memory-intensive to simulate and intractable for moderate system sizes. Herein, this paper discusses the performance and applicability of QPESIM, a new simulation of the QPE algorithm designed to take advantage of modest computational resources. In particular, we demonstrate the versatility of QPESIM in simulating various electronic states by examining the ground and core-level states of H 2 O. For these states, we also discuss the effect of the active-space size on the quality of the calculated energies. For the high-energy core-level states, we demonstrate that new QPE simulations for active spaces defined by 15 active orbitals significantly reduce the errors in core-level excitation energies compared to earlier QPE simulations using smaller active spaces.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Ab initio study and assignment of electronic states in molecular RaCl

Radium compounds have attracted recently considerable attention due to both development of experimental techniques for high-precision laser spectroscopy of molecules with short-lived nuclei and amenability of certain radium compounds for direct cooling with lasers. Currently, radium monofluoride (RaF) is one of the most studied molecules among the radium compounds, both theoretically and recently also experimentally. Complementary studies of further diatomic radium derivatives are highly desired to assess the influence of chemical substitution on diverse molecular parameters, especially on those connected with laser cooling, such as vibronic transition probabilities, and those related to violations of fundamental symmetries. Here in this article high-precision ab initio studies of electronic and vibronic levels of diatomic radium monochloride (RaCl) are presented. Recently developed approaches for treating electronic correlation with Fock-space coupled cluster methods are applied for this purpose. Theoretical results are compared to an early experimental investigation by Lagerqvist and used to partially reassign the experimentally observed transitions and molecular electronic levels of RaCl. Effective constants of $\mathscr{P}$-odd hyperfine interaction W a and $\mathscr{P, T}$-odd scalar-pseudoscalar nucleus-electron interaction Ws in the ground electronic state of RaCl are estimated within the framework of a quasirelativistic Zeroth-Order Regular Approximation approach and compared to parameters in RaF and RaOH.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Strongly coupled intermediate electronic states in one-color two-photon single valence ionization of O 2

Here, we present an experimental and theoretical energy- and angle-resolved investigation on the non-dissociative photoionization dynamics of near-resonant, one-color, two-photon, single valence ionization of neutral O 2 molecules. Using 9.3 eV femtosecond pulses produced via high harmonic generation and a 3-D momentum imaging spectrometer, we detect the photoelectrons and O$^{+}_{2}$ cations produced from one-color, two-photon ionization in coincidence. The measured and calculated photoelectron angular distributions show agreement, which indicates that a superposition of two intermediate electronic states is dominantly involved and that wavepacket motion on those near-resonantly populated intermediate states does not play a significant role in the measured two-photon ionization dynamics. Here, we find greater utility in the diabatic representation compared to the adiabatic representation, where invoking a single valence-character diabat is sufficient to describe the underlying two-photon ionization mechanism.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

An under-approximation of entropy for elemental multiconfigurational ground state electronic structures

A combinatorial approach has been applied to the allowable permutations of quantum electronic configurations under the constraints of Hund's rule for established ground state configurations toward an under-approximation of electronic structure entropy. Combined with a previously reported over-approximation, the approximations are used in conjunction in an attempt to bracket the upper and lower entropy limits for multiconfigurational ground state electronic structure entropy and compared to known standard molar entropies for the elements. This formality has been used for the application of a classical statistical mechanics methodology to be applied to the discrete sets of quantum mechanical states of Pu in order to calculate orbital occupancies in Pu's multiconfigurational ground state. Without consideration of the relative energies of various possible electronic configurations contributing to the multiconfigurational ground state, the calculations are performed under a general energy degeneracy assumption weighted to the number of permutations for specific configurations. The number of configurations assumed to significantly contribute is gradually constrained in order to approach a low-order approximation of orbital occupancies in Pu that are then compared to experimental and other calculated results from the literature.

Beaux, II, Miles F. (ORCID:000000032192626X)↗

Tuning moiré excitons and correlated electronic states through layer degree of freedom

Moiré coupling in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) superlattices introduces flat minibands that enable strong electronic correlation and fascinating correlated states, and it also modifies the strong Coulomb-interaction-driven excitons and gives rise to moiré excitons. Here, we introduce the layer degree of freedom to the WSe 2 /WS 2 moiré superlattice by changing WSe 2 from monolayer to bilayer and trilayer. We observe systematic changes of optical spectra of the moiré excitons, which directly confirm the highly interfacial nature of moiré coupling at the WSe 2 /WS 2 interface. In addition, the energy resonances of moiré excitons are strongly modified, with their separation significantly increased in multilayer WSe 2 /monolayer WS 2 moiré superlattice. The additional WSe 2 layers also modulate the strong electronic correlation strength, evidenced by the reduced Mott transition temperature with added WSe 2 layer(s). The layer dependence of both moiré excitons and correlated electronic states can be well described by our theoretical model. Our study presents a new method to tune the strong electronic correlation and moiré exciton bands in the TMDCs moiré superlattices, ushering in an exciting platform to engineer quantum phenomena stemming from strong correlation and Coulomb interaction.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Differential Ligation Alters Electronic State and Coupling Signals of Iron-Sulfur Clusters in Flavin-Based Electron Bifurcation

Flavin-based electron bifurcation (FBEB) is employed by microorganisms for controlling pools of redox equivalents by reversibly splitting electron pairs into high- and low-energy levels from an initial midpoint potential. Our ability to harness this phenomenon is crucial for biocatalytic design which is limited by our understanding of energy coupling in the bifurcation system. In Pyrococcus furiosus, FBEB is carried out by the NADH-dependent ferredoxin:NADP+-oxidoreductase (NfnSL), coupling the uphill reduction of ferredoxin in NfnL to the downhill reduction of NAD+ in NfnS from oxidation of NADPH. Flanking the bifurcating flavin are two site-differentiated iron-sulfur clusters; the nearest is a glutamate-ligated [4Fe-4S] cluster in NfnL. Recent biochemical experiments substituting the native glutamate with cysteine led to loss of coupling between the uphill and downhill pathways, in contrast to the tight thermodynamic coupling in the native system. To understand how this decoupling is biochemically manifested by the cysteine-substituted [4Fe-4S] in NfnL, we employed electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy to identify changes in electronic architecture and square wave voltammetry (SWV) to probe thermodynamic shifts produced by the substitution. We observed notable g-value shifts in the EPR for the cysteine-substituted iron-sulfur cluster in addition to significant downward shifts in the redox potential, as well as the disappearance of several low-field signals observed in the native NfnSL complex. These results suggest the site-differentiated glutamate residue facilitates higher spin states in the [4Fesingle bond4S] cluster to bridge energetic gaps in electron transfer to the bifurcating flavin in the native complex, preventing unwanted short-circuiting seen in the cysteine-substituted complex.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Direct and Inverse Photoelectron Spectroscopy Evidence for a Revised Picture of Electronic States of Negative Polarons in n‐Doped C 60

Abstract Determining the electronic levels associated with polarons, the fundamental charge carriers in organic semiconductors, is key to understanding the charge transport properties of these materials. Recent findings challenge the traditional view of these electronic levels by highlighting the importance of intra‐molecular Coulomb interactions in polarons. Experimental evidence was previously presented for a revised model of the negative polaron in the case of the polymer semiconductor poly(NDI2OD‐T 2 ); there, the addition of an excess electron was seen to lead to the emergence of a singly occupied state within the energy gap of the undoped material and an unoccupied state above the edge of the conduction states . Here, focus is on a small‐molecule semiconductor, C 60 , and spectral evidence is provided of a similar picture for the new states appearing upon polaron formation. Specifically, direct and inverse photoemission spectroscopy is used to investigate the density of states in C 60 films n‐doped with two dimeric dopants. The Coulomb interaction energy (Hubbard U ) of the C 60 anion is experimentally determined to be ≈1.1 eV, a value that aligns closely with theoretical predictions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

libwfa: Wavefunction analysis tools for excited and open‐shell electronic states

Abstract An open‐source software library for wavefunction analysis, libwfa, provides a comprehensive and flexible toolbox for post‐processing excited‐state calculations, featuring a hierarchy of interconnected visual and quantitative analysis methods. These tools afford compact graphical representations of various excited‐state processes, provide detailed insight into electronic structure, and are suitable for automated processing of large data sets. The analysis is based on reduced quantities, such as state and transition density matrices (DMs), and allows one to distill simple molecular orbital pictures of physical phenomena from intricate correlated wavefunctions. The implemented descriptors provide a rigorous link between many‐body wavefunctions and intuitive physical and chemical models, for example, exciton binding, double excitations, orbital relaxation, and polyradical character. A broad range of quantum‐chemical methods is interfaced with libwfa via a uniform interface layer in the form of DMs. This contribution reviews the structure of libwfa and highlights its capabilities by several representative use cases. This article is categorized under: Software > Quantum Chemistry Theoretical and Physical Chemistry > Spectroscopy

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Vibrationally resolved ionization cross sections for the ground state and electronically excited states of the hydrogen molecule and its isotopomeres

An existing set of vibrationally resolved ionization cross section for the ground state and the first excited states of the hydrogen molecule, based on the Gryzinski method, is extended by cross sections for the isotopomeres of H{sub 2} (i.e. D{sub 2}, T{sub 2}, HD, HT, and DT), both for non-dissociative and dissociative ionizations. The comparison of cross sections for non-dissociative ionization of H{sub 2} with results obtained by the Molecular Convergent Close-Coupling method gives a very good agreement. The compiled tables give non-dissociative and dissociative cross sections for the ground state and the five energetically lowest electronically excited states of H{sub 2} and its isotopomeres, in each case for the first 9 vibrational levels. Data for all vibrational levels of the excited states is available online.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Bridge connectivity effects on photoinduced ground-state electron spin polarization

Transient electron paramagnetic resonance (TREPR) spectroscopy has been used to probe photoinduced electron spin polarization in the recovered ground states of four radical-elaborated (CAT)Pt(bpy) donor-acceptor complexes (CAT = catechol; bpy = 4,4'-di-tert-butyl-2,2'-bipyridine). These complexes are comprised of one or two S = 1/2 nitronyl nitroxide radicals attached through different phenylethynyl bridges to the 3- or 3,6 positions of the CAT donor. In this paper, we demonstrate the effects of substitution patterns on the magnitude of the TREPR signal, thereby guiding future design principles for generating and understanding the origin of photoinduced electron spin polarization in these and related chromophores.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Charge density wave order, local lattice distortions, and topological electronic states in Nb Te 4

Assessing the atomic and electronic structure of strongly correlated systems in which the crystal symmetry changes due to emergent lattice distortions, such as charge density waves (CDWs), is nontrivial because the distortions are not necessarily amenable to a traditional crystallographic description. Using advance scattering and modeling techniques, we reveal the evolution of the atomic displacement modes behind the CDW phases of quasi-one-dimensional NbTe 4 and also derive the so far unknown atomic structure of its low-temperature commensurate (C) CDW phase. Electronic structure calculations based on the experimental C-CDW structure data predict the existence of Dirac fermions whose multiplicity turns out to depend on the degree of lattice distortions accounted for in the experimental structure derivation. Finally, we argue that the electronic structure of CDW systems in general, and in particular in transition metal tetra-tellurides, can be strongly impacted by local lattice distortions and, therefore, they should be fully accounted for when their rich physics is considered.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Graphene-driven correlated electronic states in one dimensional defects within WS2

Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid (TLL) behavior in one-dimensional systems has been predicted and shown to occur at semiconductor-to-metal transitions within two-dimensional materials. Reports of one-dimensional defects hosting a Fermi liquid or a TLL have suggested a dependence on the underlying substrate, however, unveiling the physical details of electronic contributions from the substrate require cross-correlative investigation. Here, we study TLL formation within defectively engineered WS2 atop graphene, where band structure and the atomic environment is visualized with nano angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, and non-contact atomic force microscopy. Correlations between the local density of states and electronic band dispersion elucidated the electron transfer from graphene into a TLL hosted by one-dimensional metal (1DM) defects. It appears that the vertical heterostructure with graphene and the induced charge transfer from graphene into the 1DM is critical for the formation of a TLL.

Rossi, Antonio↗