arXiv subjects

R. Berger

Publications and source records attributed to R. Berger.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Theoretical description of circular dichroism in photoelectron angular distributions of randomly oriented chiral molecules after multi-photon photoionization

Photoelectron circular dichroism refers to the forward/backward asymmetry in the photoelectron angular distribution with respect to the propagation axis of circularly polarized light. It has recently been demonstrated in femtosecond multi-photon photoionization experiments with randomly oriented camphor and fenchone molecules [C. Lux et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 51, 5001 (2012);C. S. Lehmann et al., J. Chem. Phys. 139, 234307 (2013)]. A theoretical framework describing this process as (2+1) resonantly enhanced multi-photon ionization is constructed, which consists of two-photon photoselection from randomly oriented molecules and successive one-photon ionisation of the photoselected molecules. It combines perturbation theory for the light-matter interaction with ab initio calculations for the two-photon absorption and a single-center expansion of the photoelectron wavefunction in terms of hydrogenic continuum functions. It is verified that the model correctly reproduces the basic symmetry behavior expected under exchange of handedness and light helicity. When applied it to fenchone and camphor, semi-quantitative agreement with the experimental data is found, for which a sufficient d wave character of the electronically excited intermediate state is crucial.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Ab initio study of radium monofluoride, RaF, as a candidate to search for P- and T,P- violation effects

Relativistic ab initio calculations have been performed to assess the suitability of RaF for experimental search of P- and T,P-violating interactions. The parameters of P- and T,P-odd terms of the spin-rotational Hamiltonian have been calculated for the ${^2}Σ$ electronic ground state of RaF molecule. They include the parameter $W_a$, which is critical in experimental search for nuclear anapole moment and the parameters $W_d$ and $W_{\rm SP}$ required to obtain restrictions on the electric dipole moment of the electron and T,P-odd scalar-pseudoscalar interactions, respectively. The parameter $X$ corresponding to the "volume effect" in the T,P$-$odd interaction of the $^{223}$Ra nuclear Schiff moment with electronic shells of RaF has also been computed. Spectroscopic and hyperfine structure constants for $^{223}$RaF and $^{223}$Ra$^+$ have been computed as well, demonstrating the accuracy of the methods employed.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2013

Ion neutralisation mass-spectrometry route to radium monofluoride (RaF)

The diatomic molecule radium monofluoride (RaF) has recently been proposed as a versatile probe for physics beyond the current standard model. Herein, a route towards production of a RaF molecular beam via radium ions is proposed. It takes advantage of the special electronic structure expected for group 2 halides and group 2 hydrides: The electronic ground state of neutral RaF and its monocation differ in occupation of a non-bonding orbital of $σ$ symmetry. This implies similar equilibrium distances and harmonic vibrational wavenumbers in the two charge states and thus favourable Franck--Condon factors for neutralisation without dissociation in neutralising collisions. According to the calculated ionisation energy of RaF, charge exchange collisions of RaF$^+$ with sodium atoms are almost iso-enthalpic, resulting in large cross-sections for the production of neutral radium monofluoride.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2012

Electron correlation and nuclear charge dependence of parity-violating properties in open-shell diatomic molecules

The scaling of nuclear spin-dependent parity violating effects with increasing nuclear charge $Z$ is discussed in two series of isovalent open-shell diatomic molecules. The parameter $W_\mathrm{a}$ characterising the strength of parity violation in diatomic molecules is calculated in the framework of the zeroth-order regular approximation (ZORA) and found to be in good agreement with the $R(Z) Z^k$ scaling law derived for atoms in which $R(Z)$ represents a relativistic enhancement factor. The influence of electron correlation is studied on the molecular level, with spin-polarisation effects being conveniently accounted for by a previously established approximate relation between the hyperfine coupling tensor and $W_\mathrm{a}$. For high accuracy predictions of parity violating effects in radium fluoride the necessity for systematically improvable correlation calculations is emphasised.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2010

Lasercooled RaF as a promising candidate to measure molecular parity violation

The parameter $W_\mathrm{a}$, which characterizes nuclear spin-dependent parity violation effects within the effective molecular spin-rotational Hamiltonian, was computed for the electronic ground state of radium fluoride (RaF) and found to be one of the largest absolute values predicted so far. These calculations were performed with the complex generalised Hartree-Fock method within a two-component (quasi-relativistic) zeroth-order regular approximation framework. Peculiarities of the molecular electronic structure of RaF lead to highly diagonal Franck-Condon matrices between vibrational states of the electronic ground and first excited states, which renders the molecule in principle suitable for direct laser cooling. As a trapped gas of cold molecules offers a superior coherence time, RaF can be considered a promising candidate for high-precision spectroscopic experiments aimed at the search of molecular parity-violation effects.

physics.chem-ph↗