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Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Computation of Atmospheric Concentrations of Molecular Clusters from ab initio Thermochemistry
Published on: April 8, 2020
High-dimensional ab initio potential energy surfaces for reaction dynamics calculations.
Joel M Bowman1, Gábor Czakó, Bina Fu
1Department of Chemistry and Cherry L. Emerson Center for Scientific Computation, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. jmbowma@emory.edu
Accurate potential energy surfaces (PESs) for chemical reaction dynamics are crucial. This review covers fitting techniques, dynamics calculations for H + CH4 and F + CH4 reactions, and roaming pathways in unimolecular reactions.
Area of Science:
- Computational Chemistry
- Chemical Dynamics
- Theoretical Chemistry
Background:
- Accurate potential energy surfaces (PESs) are essential for simulating chemical reaction dynamics.
- Developing PESs that respect atomic permutation symmetry is a significant challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review progress in fitting ab initio energies to construct accurate PESs.
- To survey dynamics calculations utilizing these advanced PESs.
- To highlight challenges in modeling complex reaction dynamics.
Main Methods:
- Review of fitting techniques for permutationally invariant PESs.
- Analysis of dynamics calculations for bimolecular reactions (H + CH4, F + CH4).
- Examination of unimolecular reaction dynamics (H2CO, CH3CHO photodissociation).
Main Results:
- Demonstration of permutationally invariant PES fitting techniques.
- Review of 16 existing PESs and their application in dynamics studies.
- Discovery of roaming pathways in H2CO and CH3CHO photodissociation.
Conclusions:
- Significant advancements in PES development enable accurate reaction dynamics simulations.
- Roaming mechanisms represent a novel aspect of unimolecular reaction dynamics.
- Electronically non-adiabatic reactions pose ongoing challenges for PES development.
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