arXiv subjects

Radovan Bast

Publications and source records attributed to Radovan Bast.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2020

Spatial contributions to nuclear magnetic shieldings

We develop a methodology for calculating, analyzing and visualizing nuclear magnetic shielding densities, which are calculated from the current density via the Biot-Savart relation. Atomic contributions to nuclear magnetic shielding constants can be estimated within our framework with a Becke partitioning scheme. The new features have been implemented in the GIMIC program and are applied in this work to the study of the $^1$H and $^{13}$C nuclear magnetic shieldings in benzene (C$_6$H$_6$) and cyclobutadiene (C$_4$H$_4$). The new methodology allows a visual inspection of the spatial origins of the positive (shielding) and negative (deshielding) contributions to the nuclear magnetic shielding constant of a single nucleus, something which has not been hitherto easily accomplished. Analysis of the shielding densities shows that diatropic and paratropic current-density fluxes yield both shielding as well as deshielding contributions, as the shielding or deshielding is determined by the direction of the current-density flux with respect to the studied nucleus instead of the tropicity. Becke partitioning of the magnetic shieldings shows that the magnetic shielding contributions mainly originate from the studied atom and its nearest neighbors, confirming the localized character of nuclear magnetic shieldings.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2020

The DIRAC code for relativistic molecular calculations

DIRAC is a freely distributed general-purpose program system for 1-, 2- and 4-component relativistic molecular calculations at the level of Hartree--Fock, Kohn--Sham (including range-separated theory), multiconfigurational self-consistent-field, multireference configuration interaction, coupled cluster and electron propagator theory. At the self-consistent-field level a highly original scheme, based on quaternion algebra, is implemented for the treatment of both spatial and time reversal symmetry. DIRAC features a very general module for the calculation of molecular properties that to a large extent may be defined by the user and further analyzed through a powerful visualization module. It allows the inclusion of environmental effects through three different classes of increasingly sophisticated embedding approaches: the implicit solvation polarizable continuum model, the explicit polarizable embedding, and frozen density embedding models. DIRAC was one of the earliest codes for relativistic molecular calculations and remains a reference in its field.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2018

An oxorhenium complex bearing a chiral cyclohexane-1-olato-2-thiolato ligand: synthesis, stereochemistry and theoretical study of parity violation vibrational frequency shifts

In our effort towards measuring the parity violation energy difference between two enantiomers, a simple chiral oxorhenium complex 5 bearing enantiopure 2-mercaptocyclohexan-1-ol has been prepared as a potential candidate species. Vibrational circular dichroism revealed a chiral environment surrounding the rhenium atom, even though the rhenium is not a stereogenic centre itself, and enabled to assign the (1S,2S)-(-) and (1R,2R)-(+) absolute configuration for 5. For both compound 5 and complex 4, previously studied by us and bearing a propane-2-olato-3-thiolato ligand, relativistic calculations predict parity violating vibrational frequency differences of a few hundreds of millihertz, above the expected sensitivity attainable by a molecular beam Ramsey interferometer that we are constructing.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2016

On the calculation of second-order magnetic properties using subsystem approaches in the relativistic framework

We report an implementation of the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) shielding ($\sigma$), isotope-independent indirect spin-spin coupling ($K$) and the magnetizability ($\xi$) tensors in the frozen density embedding (FDE) scheme using the four-component (4c) relativistic Dirac--Coulomb (DC) Hamiltonian and the non-collinear spin density functional theory (SDFT). The formalism takes into account the magnetic balance between the large and the small components of molecular spinors and assures the gauge-origin independence of NMR shielding and magnetizability results. This implementation has been applied to hydrogen-bonded HXH$\cdots$OH$_2$ complexes (X = Se, Te, Po) and compared with the supermolecular calculations and with the approach based on the integration of the magnetically induced current density vector. A comparison with the approximate Zeroth-Order Regular Approximation (ZORA) Hamiltonian indicates non-negligible differences in $\sigma$ and $K$ in the HPoH$\cdots$OH$_2$ complex, and calls for a thourough comparison of ZORA and DC in the description of environment effects on NMR parameters for molecular systems with heavy elements.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2015

A chiral rhenium complex with predicted high parity violation effects: synthesis, stereochemical characterization by VCD spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations

With their rich electronic, vibrational, rotational and hyperfine structure, molecular systems have the potential to play a decisive role in precision tests of fundamental physics. For example, electroweak nuclear interactions should cause small energy differences between the two enantiomers of chiral molecules, a signature of parity symmetry breaking. Enantioenriched oxorhenium(VII) complexes S-(-)- and R-(+)-3 bearing a chiral 2-methyl-1-thio-propanol ligand have been prepared as potential candidates for probing molecular parity violation effects via high resolution laser spectroscopy of the Re=O stretching. Although the rhenium atom is not a stereogenic centre in itself, experimental vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra revealed a surrounding chiral environment, evidenced by the Re=O bond stretching mode signal. The calculated VCD spectrum of the R enantiomer confirmed the position of the sulfur atom cis to the methyl, as observed in the solid-state X-ray crystallographic structure, and showed the presence of two conformers of comparable stability. Relativistic quantum chemistry calculations indicate that the vibrational shift between enantiomers due to parity violation is above the target sensitivity of an ultra-high resolution infrared spectroscopy experiment under active preparation.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2010

Progress toward a first observation of parity violation in chiral molecules by high-resolution laser spectroscopy

Parity violation (PV) effects in chiral molecules have so far never been experimentally observed. To take this challenge up, a consortium of physicists, chemists, theoreticians and spectroscopists has been established and aims at measuring PV energy differences between two enantiomers by using high-resolution laser spectroscopy. In this article, we present our common strategy to reach this goal, the progress accomplished in the diverse areas, and point out directions for future PV observations. The work of André Collet on bromochlorofluoromethane enantiomers, their synthesis and their chiral recognition by cryptophanes made feasible the first generation of experiments presented in this paper.

physics.atom-ph↗