Theory of inter-atomic electronic decay processes in clusters

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• Dr Vitaly Averbukh, Imperial College
• Thursday 27 May 2010, 13:45-15:00
• Theory Library.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Dr Dimitri M Gangardt.

Since their theoretical prediction a decade ago1, inter-atomic (inter-molecular) Coulombic decay (ICD) and related processes have been in the focus of intensive theoretical2 and experimental3 research. The spectacular progress in this direction has been stimulated both by the fundamental importance of the discovered electronic decay phenomena and by the exciting possibility of their practical application, for example in spectroscopy of interfaces4. Inter-atomic decay phenomena take place in inner-shell-ionized clusters due to electronic correlation between two or more cluster constituents. These processes lead to the decay of inner-shell vacancies by electron emission and in many cases also to disintegration of the multiply ionized cluster. The primary objective of the theory is, thus, to predict the kinetic energy spectra of the emitted electrons and of the resulting cluster fragments. These spectra are determined by an interplay between the electronic decay process and the nuclear dynamics5. Key to the reliable prediction of the observable quantities is, thus, the knowledge of the time scale of the inter-atomic decay. In this talk, I will review the recent developments in the ab initio quantum chemical methods for the calculation of inter-atomic decay rates in excited6, singly ionized7 and doubly ionized8,9 systems as well as some of their applications to various types of inner-shell-ionized clusters, e.g. rare gas systems and endohedral fullerenes.

This talk is part of the Theoretical Physics Seminars series.

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