We review different computational methods for the calculation of photoelectron spectra and angular distributions of atoms and molecules when excited by laser pulses using time-dependent density-functional theory (TDDFT) that are suitable for the description of electron emission in compact spatial regions. We derive and extend the time-dependent surface-flux method introduced in Reference [Tao L and Scrinzi A 2012 New Journal of Physics 14 013021] within a TDDFT formalism and compare its performance to other existing methods. We illustrate the performance of the new method by simulating strong-field ionization of C$_{60}$ fullerene and discuss final state effects in the orbital reconstruction of planar organic molecules.
A mixed quantum-classical approach to simulate the coupled dynamics of electrons and nuclei in nanoscale molecular systems is presented. The method relies on a second order expansion of the Lagrangian in time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) around a suitable reference density. We show that the inclusion of the second order term renders the method a self-consistent scheme and improves the calculated optical spectra of molecules by a proper treatment of the coupled response. In the application to ion-fullerene collisions, the inclusion of self-consistency is found to be crucial for a correct description of the charge transfer between projectile and target. For a model of the photoreceptor in retinal proteins, nonadiabatic molecular dynamics simulations are performed and reveal problems of TDDFT in the prediction of intra-molecular charge transfer excitations.
The treatment of atomic anions with Kohn-Sham density functional theory (DFT) has long been controversial since the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy, $E_{HOMO}$, is often calculated to be positive with most approximate density functionals. We assess the accuracy of orbital energies and electron affinities for all three rows of elements in the periodic table (H-Ar) using a variety of theoretical approaches and customized basis sets. Among all of the theoretical methods studied here, we find that a non-empirically tuned range-separated approach (constructed to satisfy DFT-Koopmans theorem for the anionic electron system) provides the best accuracy for a variety of basis sets - even for small basis sets where most functionals typically fail. Previous approaches to solve this conundrum of positive $E_{HOMO}$ values have utilized non-self-consistent methods; however electronic properties, such as electronic couplings/gradients (which require a self-consistent potential and energy), become ill-defined with these approaches. In contrast, the non-empirically tuned range-separated procedure used here yields well-defined electronic couplings/gradients and correct $E_{HOMO}$ values since both the potential and resulting electronic energy are computed self-consistently. Orbital energies and electron affinities are further analyzed in the context of the electronic energy as a function of electronic number (including fractional numbers of electrons) to provide a stringent assessment of self-interaction errors for these complex anion systems.
We identified interatomic Coulombic decay (ICD) channels in argon dimers after spectator-type resonant Auger decay $2p^{-1}~3d to 3p^{-2}3d, 4d$ in one of the atoms, using momentum resolved electron-ion-ion coincidence. The results illustrate that the resonant core excitation is a very efficient way of producing slow electrons at a specific site, which may cause localized radiation damage. We find also that ICD rate for $3p^{-2}4d$ is significantly lower than that for $3p^{-2}3d$.
Here, we report the observation of electron transfer mediated decay (ETMD) involving Mg clusters embedded in helium nanodroplets which is initiated by the ionization of helium followed by removal of two electrons from the Mg clusters of which one is transferred to the He environment neutralizing it while the other electron is emitted into the continuum. The process is shown to be the dominant ionization mechanism for embedded clusters for photon energies above the ionization potential of He. The photoelectron spectrum reveals a low energy ETMD peak. For Mg clusters larger than 5 atoms we observe stable doubly-ionized clusters. We argue that ETMD provides a new pathway to the formation of doubly-ionized cold species.
Knowledge of molecular structure is paramount in understanding, and ultimately influencing, chemical reactivity. For nearly a century, diffractive imaging has been used to identify the structures of many biologically-relevant gas-phase molecules with atomic (i.e. Angstrom, A; 1 A = 10$^{-10}$ m) spatial resolution. Unravelling the mechanisms of chemical reactions requires the capability to record multiple well-resolved snapshots of the molecular structure as it is evolving on the nuclear (i.e. femtosecond, fs; 1 fs = 10$^{-15}$ s) timescale. We present the latest, state-of-the-art ultrafast electron diffraction methods used to retrieve the molecular structure of gas-phase molecules with Angstrom and femtosecond spatio-temporal resolution. We first provide a historical and theoretical background to elastic electron scattering in its application to structural retrieval, followed by details of field-free and field-dressed ultrafast electron diffraction techniques. We discuss the application of these ultrafast methods to time-resolving chemical reactions in real-time, before providing a future outlook of the field and the challenges that exist today and in the future.
Philipp Wopperer
,Umberto De Giovannini
,Angel Rubio
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(2016)
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"Efficient and accurate modeling of electron photoemission in nanostructures with TDDFT"
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Umberto De Giovannini
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