A time-independent, variational method for studying the photodissociation of triatomic molecules.

The photodissociation of molecules is becoming an increasingly important factor to consider in the evolution of exoplanets' atmospheres orbiting around UV-rich stars, as it leads to the enrichment of atmospheric complexity. A new method is developed for computing the rotationally and vibrationally resolved photodissociation spectrum of triatomic molecules. The time-independent Schrödinger equation is solved using the variational nuclear motion program EVEREST; a new code EXOCSMOOTH is employed to compute the cross-sections by applying Gaussian smoothing to a set of discrete transitions into the continuum.

Optimizing Conical Intersections without Explicit Use of Non-Adiabatic Couplings.

We present two alternative methods for optimizing minimum energy conical intersection (MECI) molecular geometries without knowledge of the derivative coupling (DC). These methods are based on the utilization of Lagrange multipliers: (i) one method uses an approximate calculation of the DC, while the other (ii) do not require the DC. Both methods use the fact that information on the DC is contained in the Hessian of the squared energy difference.

High-level ab initio evidence of bipyramidal Cu clusters as fluxional Jahn-Teller molecules.

The front cover artwork is provided by María Pilar de Lara-Castells, Head of the AbinitFot Group at IFF-CSIC (Madrid), Coordinator of the National Project "COSYES", and Chair of the COST Action CA21101 "COSY", and Alexander O. Mitrushchenkov from the Université Paris-Est. The image shows the connection between the Jahn-Teller effect featured by bypiramidal Cu clusters and the property of fluxionality.

High-level ab initio evidence of bipyramidal Cu clusters as fluxional Jahn-Teller molecules.

Novel highly selective synthesis techniques have enable the production of atomically precise monodisperse metal clusters (AMCs) of subnanometer size. These AMCs exhibit 'molecule-like' structures that have distinct physical and chemical properties, significantly different from those of nanoparticles and bulk material. In this work, we study copper pentamer Cu clusters as model AMCs by applying both density functional theory (DFT) and high-level (wave-function-based) ab initio methods, including those which are capable of accounting for the multi-state multi-reference character of the wavefunction at the conical intersection (CI) between different electronic states and augmenting the electronic basis set till achieving well-converged energy values and structures.

Stability and Reversible Oxidation of Sub-Nanometric Cu Metal Clusters: Integrated Experimental Study and Theoretical Modeling.

Sub-nanometer metal clusters have special physical and chemical properties, significantly different from those of nanoparticles. However, there is a major concern about their thermal stability and susceptibility to oxidation. In situ X-ray Absorption spectroscopy and Near Ambient Pressure X-ray Photoelectron spectroscopy results reveal that supported Cu clusters are resistant to irreversible oxidation at least up to 773 K, even in the presence of 0.

Mini Review: Quantum Confinement of Atomic and Molecular Clusters in Carbon Nanotubes.

We overview our recent developments on a computational approach addressing quantum confinement of light atomic and molecular clusters (made of atomic helium and molecular hydrogen) in carbon nanotubes. We outline a multi-scale first-principles approach, based on density functional theory (DFT)-based symmetry-adapted perturbation theory, allowing an accurate characterization of the dispersion-dominated particle-nanotube interaction. Next, we describe a wave-function-based method, allowing rigorous fully coupled quantum calculations of the pseudo-nuclear bound states.

Nonadiabatic Effects in the Molecular Oxidation of Subnanometric Cu Clusters.

The electronic structure of subnanometric clusters, far off the bulk regime, is still dominated by molecular characteristics. The spatial arrangement of the notoriously undercoordinated metal atoms is strongly coupled to the electronic properties of the system, which makes this class of materials particularly interesting for applications including luminescence, sensing, bioimaging, theranostics, energy conversion, catalysis, and photocatalysis. Opposing a common rule of thumb that assumes an increasing chemical reactivity with smaller cluster size, Cu clusters have proven to be exceptionally resistant to irreversible oxidation, i.

On the Accuracy of Mean-Field Spin-Orbit Operators for 3d Transition-Metal Systems.

We present an extensive study of the performance of mean-field approximations to the spin-orbit operators on realistic molecular systems, as widely used in applications like single-molecule magnets, molecular quantum bits, and molecular spintronic devices. The test systems feature a 3d transition-metal center ion (V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni) in various coordinations and a multitude of energetically close-lying open-shell configurations that can couple via the spin-orbit operator. We performed complete active space spin-orbit configuration interaction calculations and compared the full two-electron Breit-Pauli spin-orbit operator to different approximations: the one-center approximation, the spin-orbit mean-field approach with electron densities from different state-averaging procedures, and the atomic mean-field integral approximation.

Theoretical rovibronic spectroscopy of the calcium monohydroxide radical (CaOH).

The rovibronic (rotation-vibration-electronic) spectrum of the calcium monohydroxide radical (CaOH) is of interest to studies of exoplanet atmospheres and ultracold molecules. Here, we theoretically investigate the ÃΠ-X̃Σ band system of CaOH using high-level ab initio theory and variational nuclear motion calculations. New potential energy surfaces (PESs) are constructed for the X̃Σ and ÃΠ electronic states along with Ã-X̃ transition dipole moment surfaces (DMSs).

A nuclear spin and spatial symmetry-adapted full quantum method for light particles inside carbon nanotubes: clusters of He, He, and para-H.

We present a new nuclear spin and spatial symmetry-adapted full quantum method for light fermionic and bosonic particles under cylindrical carbon nanotube confinement. The goal is to address Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein nuclear spin statistics on an equal footing and to deliver excited states with a similar accuracy to that of the ground state, implementing ab initio-derived potential models as well. The method is applied to clusters of up to four (three) He atoms and para-H molecules (He atoms) inside a single-walled (1 nm diameter) carbon nanotube.

On the Stability of Cu Catalysts in Air Using Multireference Perturbation Theory.

An ab initio study of the interaction of O, the most abundant radical and oxidant species in the atmosphere, with a Cu cluster, a new generation atomic metal catalyst, is presented. The open-shell nature of the reactant species is properly accounted for by using the multireference perturbation theory, allowing the experimentally confirmed resistivity of Cu clusters toward oxidation to be investigated. Approximate reaction pathways for the transition from physisorption to chemisorption are calculated for the interaction of O with quasi-iso-energetic trapezoidal planar and trigonal bipyramidal structures.

From Molecular Aggregation to a One-Dimensional Quantum Crystal of Deuterium Inside a Carbon Nanotube of 1 nm Diameter.

The quantum motion of clusters of up to four deuterium molecules under confinement in a single-wall (1 nm diameter) carbon nanotube is investigated by applying a highly accurate full quantum treatment of the most relevant nuclear degrees of freedom and an -derived potential model of the underlying dispersion-dominated intermolecular interactions. The wave functions and energies are calculated using an -developed discrete variable representation (DVR) numerical approach in internal coordinates, with the space grid approaching a few billion grid points. We unambiguously demonstrate the formation of a solid-like pyramidal one-dimensional chain structure of molecules under the cylindrical nanotube confinement.

The Molpro quantum chemistry package.

Molpro is a general purpose quantum chemistry software package with a long development history. It was originally focused on accurate wavefunction calculations for small molecules but now has many additional distinctive capabilities that include, inter alia, local correlation approximations combined with explicit correlation, highly efficient implementations of single-reference correlation methods, robust and efficient multireference methods for large molecules, projection embedding, and anharmonic vibrational spectra. In addition to conventional input-file specification of calculations, Molpro calculations can now be specified and analyzed via a new graphical user interface and through a Python framework.

Spectroscopy of a rotating hydrogen molecule in carbon nanotubes.

A first-principles study of the spectroscopy of a single hydrogen molecule rotating inside and outside of carbon nanotubes is presented. Density functional theory (DFT)-based symmetry-adapted perturbation theory (SAPT) is applied to analyze the influence of the rotation in the dispersionless and dispersion energy contributions to the adsorbate-nanotube interaction. A potential model for the H2-nanotube interaction is proposed and applied to derive the molecular energy levels of the rotating hydrogen molecule.

Ab initio design of light absorption through silver atomic cluster decoration of TiO.

A first-principles study of the stability and optical response of subnanometer silver clusters Agn (n ≤ 5) on a TiO2(110) surface is presented. First, the adequacy of the vdW-corrected DFT-D3 approach is assessed using the domain-based pair natural orbital correlation DLPNO-CCSD(T) calculations along with the Symmetry-Adapted Perturbation Theory [SAPT(DFT)] applied to a cluster model. Next, using the DFT-D3 treatment with a periodic slab model, we analyze the interaction energies of the atomic silver clusters with the TiO2(110) surface.

Quantum confinement of molecular deuterium clusters in carbon nanotubes: ab initio evidence for hexagonal close packing.

An ab initio study of quantum confinement of deuterium clusters in carbon nanotubes is presented. First, density functional theory (DFT)-based symmetry-adapted perturbation theory is used to derive parameters for a pairwise potential model describing the adsorbate-nanotube interaction. Next, we analyze the quantum nuclear motion of N D molecules (N < 4) confined in carbon nanotubes using a highly accurate adsorbate-wave-function-based approach, and compare it with the motion of molecular hydrogen.

Ab Initio Confirmation of a Harpoon-Type Electron Transfer in a Helium Droplet.

An ab initio study of a long-range electron transfer or "harpoon"-type process from Cs and Cs to C in a superfluid helium droplet is presented. The heliophobic Cs or Cs species are initially located at the droplet surface, while the heliophilic C molecule is fully immersed in the droplet. First, probabilities for the electron transfer in the gas phase are calculated for reactants with velocities below the critical Landau velocity of 57 m/s to account for the superfluid helium environment.

Ab initio ro-vibronic spectroscopy of the Π2 PCS radical and Σ+1PCS anion.

Near-equilibrium potential energy surfaces have been calculated for both the PCS radical and its anion using a composite coupled cluster approach based on explicitly correlated F12 methods in order to provide accurate structures and spectroscopic properties. These transient species are still unknown and the present study provides theoretical predictions of the radical and its anion for the first time. Since these species are strongly suggested to play an important role as intermediates in the interstellar medium, the rotational and vibrational spectroscopic parameters are presented to help aid in the identification and assignment of these spectra.

Orbital breathing effects in the computation of x-ray d-ion spectra in solids by ab initio wave-function-based methods.

In existing theoretical approaches to core-level excitations of transition-metal ions in solids relaxation and polarization effects due to the inner core hole are often ignored or described phenomenologically. Here we set up an ab initio computational scheme that explicitly accounts for such physics in the calculation of x-ray absorption and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering spectra. Good agreement is found with experimental transition-metal L-edge data for the strongly correlated d cuprate LiCuO, for which we determine the absolute scattering intensities.

Transferability and accuracy by combining dispersionless density functional and incremental post-Hartree-Fock theories: Noble gases adsorption on coronene/graphene/graphite surfaces.

The accuracy and transferability of the electronic structure approach combining dispersionless density functional theory (DFT) [K. Pernal et al., Phys.

Nuclear Bound States of Molecular Hydrogen Physisorbed on Graphene: An Effective Two-Dimensional Model.

The interaction potential of molecular hydrogen physisorbed on a graphene sheet is evaluated using the ab initio-based periodic dlDF+Das scheme and its accuracy is assessed by comparing the nuclear bound-state energies supported by the H2(D2/HD)/graphite potentials with the experimental energies. The periodic dlDF+Das treatment uses DFT-based symmetry-adapted perturbation theory on surface cluster models to extract the dispersion contribution to the interaction whereas periodic dispersionless density functional (dlDF) calculations are performed to determine the dispersion-free counterpart. It is shown that the H2/graphene interaction is effectively two-dimensional (2D), with the distance from the molecule center-of-mass to the surface plane and the angle between the diatomic axis and the surface normal as the relevant degrees of freedom.

Combining density functional and incremental post-Hartree-Fock approaches for van der Waals dominated adsorbate-surface interactions: Ag2/graphene.

A combined density functional (DFT) and incremental post-Hartree-Fock (post-HF) approach, proven earlier to calculate He-surface potential energy surfaces [de Lara-Castells et al., J. Chem.

Communication: unraveling the (4)He droplet-mediated soft-landing from ab initio-assisted and time-resolved density functional simulations: Au@(4)He300/TiO2(110).

An ab-initio-based methodological scheme for He-surface interactions and zero-temperature time-dependent density functional theory for superfluid (4)He droplets motion are combined to follow the short-time collision dynamics of the Au@(4)He300 system with the TiO2(110) surface. This composite approach demonstrates the (4)He droplet-assisted sticking of the metal species to the surface at low landing energy (below 0.15 eV/atom), thus providing the first theoretical evidence of the experimentally observed (4)He droplet-mediated soft-landing deposition of metal nanoparticles on solid surfaces [Mozhayskiy et al.

Physisorbed H2@Cu(100) surface: potential and spectroscopy.

Using an embedding approach, a 2-D potential energy function has been calculated to describe the physisorption interaction of H2 with a Cu(100) surface. For this purpose, a cluster model of the system calculated with highly correlated wavefunctions is combined with a periodic Density-Functional-Theory method using van der Waals-DF2 functional. Rotational and vibrational energy levels of physisorbed H2, as well as D2 and HD, are calculated using the 2D embedding corrected potential energy function.

Communication: A combined periodic density functional and incremental wave-function-based approach for the dispersion-accounting time-resolved dynamics of ⁴He nanodroplets on surfaces: ⁴He/graphene.

In this work we propose a general strategy to calculate accurate He-surface interaction potentials. It extends the dispersionless density functional approach recently developed by Pernal et al. [Phys.