A theoretical study of the low-lying electronic states of the AlCCH radical and its ions.

The AlCCH radical is a photolysis product of the aluminum-acetylene adducts and has been considered as a molecule with potential interest in astrophysics. In this study, the low-lying electronic states of the AlCCH radical, cation, and anion have been studied by using complete active space self-consistent field and multiconfigurational second-order perturbation theory. The geometrical parameters, electron configurations, excitation energies, oscillator strengths, and harmonic vibrational frequencies are calculated in C(S) symmetry. For the X(1)Sigma(+) state of AlCCH, the calculated C-C and C-Al stretching modes are in good agreement with experimental reports. Moreover, the vertical excitation energy (T(v)) of 1(1)Pi is 3.68 eV, which is close to the experimental value of 3.57 eV. The electron transitions of AlCCH(+), X(2)Sigma(+) --> 1(2)Pi, X(2)Sigma(+) --> 2(2)Sigma(+), and X(2)Sigma(+) --> 1(2)Sigma(-), are predicted at 2.57, 4.51, and 4.61 eV, respectively. For AlCCH(-), the transition X(2)Pi --> 1(2)Sigma(-) occurs at 3.02 eV. The ionization potentials of AlCCH are computed in order to provide a theoretical guidance to the photoelectron spectrum of the AlCCH radical.