Performance of a fully close-coupled wave packet method for the H₂+LiF(001) model problem.

The H2+LiF(001) system was used to investigate the performance of the hybrid close‐coupling wave packet (CCWP) method and of a symmetry adapted, fully close‐coupled wave packet (SAWP) method for a molecule–surface problem characterized by fairly high corrugation. In the calculations, a realistic, φ‐dependent model potential was used. The calculations were performed for a collision energy of 0.2 eV, with H2 initially in its j=0 rotational state at normal incidence to the surface. Large increases in the computational efficiencies of both wave packet methods were achieved by taking advantage of the potential coupling matrices associated with both methods becoming sparser with increasing molecule–surface distance. For the present model problem and employing this increased sparseness at longer range, the SAWP method is faster than the CCWP method by a factor of 2. The potential usefulness of the SAWP method for dissociative chemisorption problems is discussed

Six-dimensional quantum dynamics of dissociative chemisorption of (v=0, j=0) H2 on Cu(100).

Theoretical Chemistr

Rotational effects in vibrational excitation of H2 on Cu (100).

Theoretical Chemistr

Spin-Orbit Effects in the Excitation of Proton and Neutron States in the (p,p') Reaction at 160 MeV, 120 MeV, and 95 MeV

Supported by the National Science Foundation and Indiana Universit

Observation of Large Differences in the Diffraction of Normal- and Para-H2 from LiF(001)

Theoretical Chemistr

Atomic diffraction from nanostructured optical potentials

We develop a versatile theoretical approach to the study of cold-atom diffractive scattering from light-field gratings by combining calculations of the optical near-field, generated by evanescent waves close to the surface of periodic nanostructured arrays, together with advanced atom wavepacket propagation on this optical potential.Comment: 8 figures, 10 pages, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Ab initio Quantum and ab initio Molecular Dynamics of the Dissociative Adsorption of Hydrogen on Pd(100)

The dissociative adsorption of hydrogen on Pd(100) has been studied by ab initio quantum dynamics and ab initio molecular dynamics calculations. Treating all hydrogen degrees of freedom as dynamical coordinates implies a high dimensionality and requires statistical averages over thousands of trajectories. An efficient and accurate treatment of such extensive statistics is achieved in two steps: In a first step we evaluate the ab initio potential energy surface (PES) and determine an analytical representation. Then, in an independent second step dynamical calculations are performed on the analytical representation of the PES. Thus the dissociation dynamics is investigated without any crucial assumption except for the Born-Oppenheimer approximation which is anyhow employed when density-functional theory calculations are performed. The ab initio molecular dynamics is compared to detailed quantum dynamical calculations on exactly the same ab initio PES. The occurence of quantum oscillations in the sticking probability as a function of kinetic energy is addressed. They turn out to be very sensitive to the symmetry of the initial conditions. At low kinetic energies sticking is dominated by the steering effect which is illustrated using classical trajectories. The steering effects depends on the kinetic energy, but not on the mass of the molecules. Zero-point effects lead to strong differences between quantum and classical calculations of the sticking probability. The dependence of the sticking probability on the angle of incidence is analysed; it is found to be in good agreement with experimental data. The results show that the determination of the potential energy surface combined with high-dimensional dynamical calculations, in which all relevant degrees of freedon are taken into account, leads to a detailed understanding of the dissociation dynamics of hydrogen at a transition metal surface.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, subm. to Phys. Rev.