The significance of the amorphous potential energy landscape for dictating glassy dynamics and driving solid-state crystallisation.

The fundamental origins surrounding the dynamics of disordered solids near their characteristic glass transitions continue to be fiercely debated, even though a vast number of materials can form amorphous solids, including small-molecule organic, inorganic, covalent, metallic, and even large biological systems. The glass-transition temperature, Tg, can be readily detected by a diverse set of techniques, but given that these measurement modalities probe vastly different processes, there has been significant debate regarding the question of why Tg can be detected across all of them. Here we show clear experimental and computational evidence in support of a theory that proposes that the shape and structure of the potential-energy surface (PES) is the fundamental factor underlying the glass-transition processes, regardless of the frequency that experimental methods probe. Whilst this has been proposed previously, we demonstrate, using ab initio molecular-dynamics (AIMD) simulations, that it is of critical importance to carefully consider the complete PES - both the intra-molecular and inter-molecular features - in order to fully understand the entire range of atomic-dynamical processes in disordered solids. Finally, we show that it is possible to utilise this dependence to directly manipulate and harness amorphous dynamics in order to control the behaviour of such solids by using high-powered terahertz pulses to induce crystallisation and preferential crystal-polymorph growth in glasses. Combined, these findings provide compelling evidence that the PES landscape, and the corresponding energy barriers, are the ultimate controlling feature behind the atomic and molecular dynamics of disordered solids, regardless of the frequency at which they occur.

Far-infrared spectra of the tryptamine A conformer by IR-UV ion gain spectroscopy.

We present far infrared spectra of the conformer A of tryptamine in the 200 to 500 cm-1 wavenumber range along with resonant photoionization spectra of the far-infrared excited conformer A of tryptamine. We show that single-far-infrared photon excited tryptamine has highly structured resonance enhanced multi-photon ionization spectra, revealing the mode composition of the S1-state. Upon multiple-far-infrared photon absorption, the resonance enhanced multi-photon ionization spectrum broadens allowing ion gain spectroscopy to be performed. In the ion gain spectrum we detect the fundamental far-infrared modes but also combination and overtone bands with high efficiency. The implications to dip spectroscopy using a free electron laser compared to more conventional light sources are discussed.

A conformation-selective IR-UV study of the dipeptides Ac-Phe-Ser-NH2 and Ac-Phe-Cys-NH2: probing the SH···O and OH···O hydrogen bond interactions.

The conformational preferences of peptides are mainly controlled by the stabilizing effect of intramolecular interactions. In peptides with polar side chains, not only the backbone but also the side chain interactions determine the resulting conformations. In this paper, the conformational preferences of the capped dipeptides Ac-Phe-Ser-NH2 (FS) and Ac-Phe-Cys-NH2 (FC) are resolved under laser-desorbed jet cooling conditions using IR-UV ion dip spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) quantum chemistry calculations. As serine (Ser) and cysteine (Cys) only differ in an OH (Ser) or SH (Cys) moiety; this subtle alteration allows us to study the effect of the difference in hydrogen bonding for an OH and SH group in detail, and its effect on the secondary structure. IR absorption spectra are recorded in the NH stretching region (3200-3600 cm(-1)). In combination with quantum chemical calculations the spectra provide a direct view of intramolecular interactions. Here, we show that both FS as FC share a singly γ-folded backbone conformation as the most stable conformer. The hydrogen bond strength of OH···O (FS) is stronger than that of SH···O (FC), resulting in a more compact gamma turn structure. A second conformer is found for FC, showing a ß turn interaction.

Photodissociation of singlet oxygen in the UV region.

Photodissociation of singlet oxygen, O2 a(1)Δg, by ultraviolet radiation in the region from 200 to 240 nm has been investigated using velocity map imaging of the atomic oxygen photofragments. Singlet oxygen molecules are generated in a pulsed discharge and studied by one-laser photodissociation and detection around 226 nm as well as two color photodissociation at various wavelengths in the range from 200 to 240 nm. A simple model of the discharge on and off signal indicates efficient conversion of O2 X(3)Σg(-)(v = 0) in the parent beam to O2 a(1)Δg(v = 0-2). Minute amounts of highly excited vibrational levels of ground state O2 X(3)Σg(-)(v > 0) are detected but no evidence is found for production of the O2 b(1)Σg(+) state. Over the decreasing wavelength range 240-200 nm the a(1)Δg-state signal relative to the X(3)Σg(-)(v = 0) signal decreases strongly. Around 226 nm the a(1)Δg(v = 0-2) states averaged branching ratio percentage for O((3)Pjj = 2 : 1 : 0) is found to be 56 : 36 : 8 (±5%), respectively. The anisotropy parameter for photodissociation of a(1)Δg(v = 0-2) averages to ß = 1.3 ± 0.4. The a(1)Δg(v = 0) photodissociation cross section is found to 3-10 times stronger than theory predicts. Furthermore, the photodissociation image shows a strong parallel character, (i.e., transition moment parallel to the molecular axis) while theory predicts a predominantly negative character.

A theoretical and experimental study of pressure broadening of the oxygen A-band by helium.

The rotationally resolved magnetic dipole absorption spectrum of the oxygen A-band b(1)Σ(g)(+)(v=0) <- X(3)Σ(g)(-)(v=0) perturbed by collisions with helium was studied theoretically using the impact approximation. To calculate the relaxation matrix, scattering calculations were performed on a newly computed helium-oxygen (b(1)Σ(g)(+)) interaction potential as well as on a helium-oxygen (X(3)Σ(g)(-)) interaction potential from the literature. The calculated integrated line cross sections and broadening coefficients are in good agreement with experimental results from the literature. Additionally, cavity ring-down experiments were performed in the wings of the spectral lines for a quantitative study of line-mixing, i.e., the redistribution of rotational line intensities by helium-oxygen collisions. It is shown that inclusion of line-mixing in the theory is required to reproduce the experimentally determined absolute absorption strengths as a function of the density of the helium gas.

Collision induced absorption in the a1Δ(v = 2) ← X3Σg(-)(v = 0) band of molecular oxygen.

Using cavity ring-down spectroscopy we measured the collision induced absorption spectrum associated with the a(1)Δ(v = 2) ←X(3)Σ(g)(-)(v = 0) band of oxygen near 922 nm both in pure oxygen and in mixtures of oxygen and nitrogen. For pure oxygen, we report for this band an integrated absorption of (1.56 - 0.04/+0.40) × 10(-5) cm(-2) amg(-2). We find that collisions between oxygen and nitrogen do not result in any measurable CIA signal. At 1 bar of oxygen, this collision induced transition is much stronger than the allowed magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole transitions.

Collision-induced absorption in the O2 B-band region near 670 nm.

We have determined the collision-induced absorption (CIA) spectrum in the O(2) B-band in pure oxygen. We present absolute extinction coefficients of the minimums in between rotational lines using cavity ring-down spectroscopy. The measured extinction is corrected for the B-band magnetic dipole absorption using a model which includes line-mixing. The remaining extinction consists of collision-induced absorption and Rayleigh scattering. We retrieve the magnitude of the Rayleigh scattering and the CIA spectrum based on their individual different behavior with density. The CIA spectrum of the B-band resembles that of the oxygen A-band in shape but not in magnitude. The contribution of CIA to the total B-band absorption is 40% higher in comparison to that of the A-band.

Angular distributions and angular momentum alignment of O((3)P(J)) atoms formed in the photolysis of O(2)via the Herzberg continuum.

Sliced velocity-map imaging has been used to measure photofragment scattering distributions for the O((3)P(2)) and O((3)P(1)) products of O(2) photolysis following laser excitation into the Herzberg continuum between 205 and 241 nm. The images were analysed to extract the photofragment spatial anisotropy parameter, ß, together with the alignment parameters a(∥), a(⊥), a(⊥), and Re[a(∥, ⊥)]. Our alignment measurements bridge the gap between the recent 193 nm measurement of Brouard et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2006, 8, 5549 and those of Alexander et al., J. Chem. Phys., 2003, 118, 10566 at 222 and 237 nm, and extend out to the threshold at 241 nm. Our measured parameters show no strong dependence on photolysis wavelength. Near the threshold we were able to separate the contributions from the O((3)P(2)) + O((3)P(2)) and O((3)P(2)) + O((3)P(1)) channels, and found significantly different photofragment alignments for the two cases.

Line mixing and collision induced absorption in the oxygen A-band using cavity ring-down spectroscopy.

This paper reports on the absorption of molecular oxygen in the region of the A-band near 760 nm under atmospheric conditions relevant for satellite retrieval studies. We use pulsed laser cavity ring-down spectroscopy with a narrow bandwidth laser and use pressure scans to increase the accuracy of the measured oxygen extinction coefficients. Absolute binary absorption coefficients in minima between absorption lines of the A-band spectrum have been measured and tabulated. We use the so-called adjustable branch coupling model including line mixing to calculate the magnetic dipole absorption in order to determine the contribution of collision induced absorption. The line mixing model has been optimized such that the collision induced absorption spectrum is smooth.

Rotationally resolved electronic spectroscopy of 5-methoxyindole.

Rotationally resolved electronic spectra of the vibrationless origin and of eight vibronic bands of 5-methoxyindole (5MOI) have been measured and analyzed using an evolutionary strategy approach. The experimental results are compared to the results of ab initio calculations. All vibronic bands can be explained by absorption of a single conformer, which unambiguously has been shown to be the anti-conformer from its rotational constants and excitation energy. For both anti- and syn-conformers, a (1)L(a)/(1)L(b) gap larger than 4000 cm(-1) is calculated, making the vibronic coupling between both states very small, thereby explaining why the spectrum of 5MOI is very different from that of the parent molecule, indole.

Dissociative recombination of highly enriched para-H3+.

The determination of the dissociative recombination rate coefficient of H(3) (+) has had a turbulent history, but both experiment and theory have recently converged to a common value. Despite this convergence, it has not been clear if there should be a difference between the rate coefficients for ortho-H(3) (+) and para-H(3) (+). A difference has been predicted theoretically and could conceivably impact the ortho:para ratio of H(3) (+) in the diffuse interstellar medium, where H(3) (+) has been widely observed. We present the results of an experiment at the CRYRING ion storage ring in which we investigated the dissociative recombination of highly enriched ( approximately 83.6%) para-H(3) (+) using a supersonic expansion source that produced ions with T(rot) approximately 60-100 K. We observed an increase in the low energy recombination rate coefficient of the enriched para-H(3) (+) by a factor of approximately 1.25 in comparison to H(3) (+) produced from normal H(2) (ortho:para=3:1). The ratio of the rate coefficients of pure para-H(3) (+) to that of pure ortho-H(3) (+) is inferred to be approximately 2 at low collision energies; the corresponding ratio of the thermal rate coefficients is approximately 1.5 at electron temperatures from 60 to 1000 K. We conclude that this difference is unlikely to have an impact on the interstellar ortho:para ratio of H(3) (+).

O2-O2 and O2-N2 collision-induced absorption mechanisms unravelled.

Collision-induced absorption is the phenomenon in which interactions between colliding molecules lead to absorption of light, even for transitions that are forbidden for the isolated molecules. Collision-induced absorption contributes to the atmospheric heat balance and is important for the electronic excitations of O2 that are used for remote sensing. Here, we present a theoretical study of five vibronic transitions in O2-O2 and O2-N2, using analytical models and numerical quantum scattering calculations. We unambiguously identify the underlying absorption mechanism, which is shown to depend explicitly on the collision partner-contrary to textbook knowledge. This explains experimentally observed qualitative differences between O2-O2 and O2-N2 collisions in the overall intensity, line shape and vibrational dependence of the absorption spectrum. It is shown that these results can be used to discriminate between conflicting experimental data and even to identify unphysical results, thus impacting future experimental studies and atmospheric applications.

Publisher Correction: O2-O2 and O2-N2 collision-induced absorption mechanisms unravelled.

In the version of this Article originally published, Figures 3 and 4 were erroneously swapped, this has been corrected in all versions of the Article.

A large aperture magnification lens for velocity map imaging.

We have designed and implemented a large aperture electrostatic Einzel lens that magnifies the images of low energy ions or electrons in a standard velocity map imaging apparatus by up to a factor of 5 while allowing the normal use of the apparatus (without blocking any part of the detector). The field strength in the interaction region remains reasonably constant with or without magnification, and the lens can be used in the normal "crush" mode or with any of the different variants of the "slicing" mode. We have characterized the performance of the lens by imaging ion recoil due to two-photon resonant three-photon ionization [(2+1) REMPI] of O((3)P(2)) atoms and by imaging slow NO molecules from the near-threshold photodissociation of the NO-Ar van der Waals complex.

Control and imaging of O(1D2) precession.

Larmor precession of a quantum mechanical angular momentum vector about an applied magnetic field forms the basis for a range of magnetic resonance techniques, including nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging. We have used a polarized laser pump-probe scheme with velocity-map imaging detection to visualize, for the first time, the precessional motion of a quantum mechanical angular momentum vector. Photodissociation of O(2) at 157 nm provides a clean source of fast-moving O((1)D(2)) atoms, with their electronic angular momentum vector strongly aligned perpendicular to the recoil direction. In the presence of an external magnetic field, the distribution of atomic angular momenta precesses about the field direction, and polarization-sensitive images of the atomic scattering distribution recorded as a function of field strength yield 'time-lapse-photography' style movies of the precessional motion. We present movies recorded in various experimental geometries, and discuss potential consequences and applications in atmospheric chemistry and reaction dynamics.

Size distribution of mineral aerosol: using light-scattering models in laser particle sizing.

The size distribution of semitransparent irregularly shaped mineral dust aerosol samples is determined using a commonly used laser particle-sizing technique. The size distribution is derived from intensity measurements of singly scattered light at various scattering angles close to the forward-scattering direction at a wavelength of 632.8 nm. We analyze the results based on various light-scattering models including diffraction theory, Mie calculations for spheres with various refractive indices, and T-matrix calculations for spheroidal particles. We identify systematic errors of the retrieved size distribution when the semitransparent and nonspherical properties of the particles are neglected. Synthetic light-scattering data for a variety of parameterized size distributions of spheres and spheroids are used to investigate the effect of simplifying assumptions made when the diffraction model or Mie theory is applied in the retrieval.

Electron energy-dependent product state distributions in the dissociative recombination of O2+.

We present product state distributions and quantum yields from the dissociative recombination reaction of O2+ in its electronic and vibrational ground states as a function of electron collision energy between 0 and 300 meV. The experiments have been performed in the heavy-ion storage ring, CRYRING, and use a cold hollow-cathode discharge source for the production of cold molecular oxygen ions. The branching fractions over the different dissociation limits show distinct oscillations while the resulting product quantum yields are largely independent of electron collision energy above 40 meV. The branching results are well reproduced assuming an isotropic dissociation process, in contrast with recent theoretical predictions.

Vibrationally resolved rate coefficients and branching fractions in the dissociative recombination of O2+.

We have studied the dissociative recombination of the first three vibrational levels of O(2) (+) in its electronic ground X (2)Pi(g) state. Absolute rate coefficients, cross sections, quantum yields and branching fractions have been determined in a merged-beam experiment in the heavy-ion storage ring, CRYRING, employing fragment imaging for the reaction dynamics. We present the absolute total rate coefficients as function of collision energies up to 0.4 eV for five different vibrational populations of the ion beam, as well as the partial (vibrationally resolved) rate coefficients and the branching fractions near 0 eV collision energy for the vibrational levels v=0, 1, and 2. The vibrational populations used were produced in a modified electron impact ion source, which has been calibrated using Cs-O(2)(+) dissociative charge transfer reactions. The measurements indicate that at low collision energies, the total rate coefficient is weakly dependent on the vibrational excitation. The calculated thermal rate coefficient at 300 K decreases upon vibrational excitation. The partial rate coefficients as well as the partial branching fractions are found to be strongly dependent on the vibrational level. The partial rate coefficient is the fastest for v=0 and goes down by a factor of two or more for v=1 and 2. The O((1)S) quantum yield, linked to the green airglow, increases strongly upon increasing vibrational level. The effects of the dissociative recombination reactions and super elastic collisions on the vibrational populations are discussed.

Dissociative recombination of the weakly bound NO-dimer cation: cross sections and three-body dynamics.

Dissociative recombination (DR) of the dimer ion (NO)(2) (+) has been studied at the heavy-ion storage ring CRYRING at the Manne Siegbahn Laboratory, Stockholm. The experiments were aimed at determining details on the strongly enhanced thermal rate coefficient for the dimer, interpreting the dissociation dynamics of the dimer ion, and studying the degree of similarity to the behavior in the monomer. The DR rate reveals that the very large efficiency of the dimer rate with respect to the monomer is limited to electron energies below 0.2 eV. The fragmentation products reveal that the breakup into the three-body channel NO+O+N dominates with a probability of 0.69+/-0.02. The second most important channel yields NO+NO fragments with a probability of 0.23+/-0.03. Furthermore, the dominant three-body breakup yields electronic and vibrational ground-state products, NO(upsilon=0)+N((4)S)+O((3)P), in about 45% of the cases. The internal product-state distribution of the NO fragment shows a similarity with the product-state distribution as predicted by the Franck-Condon overlap between a NO moiety of the dimer ion and a free NO. The dissociation dynamics seem to be independent of the NO internal energy. Finally, the dissociation dynamics reveal a correlation between the kinetic energy of the NO fragment and the degree of conservation of linear momentum between the O and N product atoms. The observations support a mechanism in which the recoil takes place along one of the NO bonds in the dimer.

Transitions driven by a missing frequency.

We demonstrate an intricate combination of strong and weak interactions of a broadband half-cycle pulse with Rydberg atoms. A transition, which is resonant with a frequency that was taken out of the frequency spectrum, can be enhanced. In the experiment, the broadband ultrashort terahertz half-cycle pulse propagates through water vapor, which absorbs on discrete lines in the spectrum, thus removing frequencies from the spectrum. The resulting pulse interacts with a rubidium Rydberg atom, which has a resonant transition with one of the missing frequencies. Under certain conditions, the transition probability is enhanced although the associated frequency was missing in the spectrum.