ISSN:
1089-7690
Source:
AIP Digital Archive
Topics:
Physics
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
Notes:
Recently, Kennedy and Carrington found new quasibound states of H+3, which lie up to 1 eV above the dissociation limit with lifetimes as long as 1 μs. In an effort to understand the structure of these states, we investigate classically bound states embedded in the dissociative continuum of this molecule. In the first part, we assume J=0, and specialize to one of the two symmetries, C∞V or C2V. Poincaré surfaces of section are used to demonstrate the existence of a small region of bound phase space in these 2D problems, but stability analysis of the periodic orbits show that most of them are unstable in 3D. We conclude that J=0 or, more generally, low J states cannot explain the experiments. In the second part we treat the case J〉0. A total angular momentum centrifugal barrier provides a classically rigorous boundary, which separates the phase space into two parts: a dissociative and a bound region. Wells and double wells exist. Trajectories in these wells show quasiperiodic or chaotic character, depending on the total angular momentum, and on the energy relative to the bottom of the well. Quantally, these states can dissociate by tunneling. One finds long lifetimes in qualitative agreement with the experiments. The volume of the bound part of the phase space is determined by Monte Carlo integration. Typically, several thousand resonance states are found for any J between 20 and 50. This suffices (in principle) to explain the very large number of experimentally observed lines.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.454525
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