Electron dynamics in molecular interactions

This volume provides a comprehensive introduction to the theory of electronic motion in molecular processes ? an increasingly relevant and rapidly expanding segment of molecular quantum dynamics. Emphasis is placed on describing and interpreting transitions between electronic states in molecules as they occur typically in cases of reactive scattering between molecules, photoexcitation or nonadiabatic coupling between electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom.Electron Dynamics in Molecular Interactions aims at a synoptic presentation of some very recent theoretical efforts to solve the electronic problem in quantum molecular dynamics, contrasting them with more traditional schemes. The presented models are derived from their roots in basic quantum theory, their interrelations are discussed, and their characteristic applications to concrete chemical systems are outlined. This volume also includes an assessment of the present status of electron dynamics and a report on novel developments to meet the current challenges in the field.Further, this monograph responds to a need for a systematic comparative treatise on nonadiabatic theories of quantum molecular dynamics, which are of considerably higher complexity than the more traditional adiabatic approaches and are steadily gaining in importance. This volume addresses a broad readership ranging from physics or chemistry graduate students to specialists in the field of theoretical quantum dynamics.Contents: Preparations: Ab Initio Theory of Electronic StructureThe Adiabatic and the Diabatic RepresentationBasic Concepts of Scattering TheorySemiclassical NotionsOpen Systems: Elements of Rate TheoryMethods: Time-Independent Theory of Molecular Collisions I: Multichannel ScatteringTime-Independent Theory of Molecular Collisions II: The Electronic ProblemThe Time-Dependent Self-consistent Field TheoryEvolution of Coherent Molecular States: Electron Nuclear Dynamics TheoryThe Classical Electron AnalogHopping and SpawningSemiclassical Propagator TechniquesQuantum Hydrodynamics I: Coupled Trajectories in Bohmian MechanicsQuantum Hydrodynamics II: The Semiclassical Liouville-Von Neumann EquationWavepacket Propagation MethodsDensity Functional DynamicsDecoherenceSpecial Topics: Ultrafast Optical SpectroscopyOptical Control of Electron Multistate Molecular DynamicsElectron Transfer in Condensed MediaElectronic Friction in Molecule-Surface InteractionsGraduate students and researchers in physical chemistry and computational physics; industrial chemists and physicists interested in the field. Key Features:This book provides an overview of the recent nonadiabatic theories of quantum molecular dynamics that are widely used and highly acknowledged in the community of physical chemistsThere is currently no other book available in the market that shares the publication scope of this bookIt can be used as a supplementary textbook to graduate level course in quantum chemistry or chemical dynamics