Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

The Journal of Chemical Physics

Scattering of NH3 and ND3 with rare gas atoms at low collision energy

Jérôme Loreau, Ad van der Avoird

Published Nov 11, 2015• 31 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We present a theoretical study of elastic and rotationally inelastic collisions of NH3 and ND3 with rare gas atoms (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe) at low energy. Quantum close-coupling calculations have been performed for energies between 0.001 and 300 cm(-1). We focus on collisions in which NH3 is initially in the upper state of the inversion doublet with j = 1, k = 1, which is the most relevant in an experimental context as it can be trapped electrostatically and Stark-decelerated. We discuss the presence of resonances in the elastic and inelastic cross sections, as well as the trends in the inelastic cross sections along the rare gas series and the differences between NH3 and ND3 as a colliding partner. We also demonstrate the importance of explicitly taking into account the umbrella (inversion) motion of NH3 in order to obtain accurate scattering cross sections at low collision energy. Finally, we investigate the possibility of sympathetic cooling of ammonia using cold or ultracold rare gas atoms. We show that some systems exhibit a large ratio of elastic to inelastic cross sections in the cold regime, which is promising for sympathetic cooling experiments. The close-coupling calculations are based on previously reported ab initio potential energy surfaces for NH3-He and NH3-Ar, as well as on new, four-dimensional, potential energy surfaces for the interaction of ammonia with Ne, Kr, and Xe, which were computed using the coupled-cluster method and large basis sets. We compare the properties of the potential energy surfaces corresponding to the interaction of ammonia with the various rare gas atoms.

DOI
10.1063/1.4935259

Related papers

Low-energy collisions of NH3 and ND3 with ultracold Rb atoms

Piotr Szymon Żuchowski, Jeremy M. Hutson

We carry out quantum inelastic scattering calculations of collisions of Rb atoms with inverting ${\text{NH}}_{3}$ and ${\text{ND}}_{3}$ molecules in the energy range between 0 and $100\text{ }{\text{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$, which are important for experiments using velocity-controlled molecular beams to probe scattering resonances. We focus on molecules initially in the upper level of the ammonia inversion doublet for $j=1$, $k=1$, which is low-field seeking and can be controlled in a Stark decelerator. We calculate the integral elastic and state-to-state inelastic cross sections in the coupled-states approximation. We demonstrate the presence of both shape and Feshbach resonances in the elastic and inelastic cross sections at low collision energies and discuss their origin in terms of the bound states of the Rb-${\text{ND}}_{3}$ complex. We also consider elastic and inelastic cross sections in the ultracold regime, using close-coupling calculations, in order to assess the viability of sympathetic cooling of ${\text{ND}}_{3}$ by Rb. The inelastic cross section for relaxation to the lower level of the inversion doublet is smaller than expected for such a strongly coupled system but is still likely to be too large to allow sympathetic cooling for ${\text{ND}}_{3}$ in low-field-seeking states. However, there is a good prospect that sympathetic cooling will be possible for molecules in high-field-seeking states even when the collision partner is a magnetically trapped atom in a low-field-seeking state.

arXiv:0902.4548•Physical Review A•Jun 11, 2009•57 citations

Cold and ultracold NH–NH collisions: The field-free case

Liesbeth M. C. Janssen, Piotr Szymon Żuchowski, Ad van der Avoird +2 more

We present elastic and inelastic spin-changing cross sections for cold and ultracold NH(X (3)Σ(-)) + NH(X (3)Σ(-)) collisions, obtained from full quantum scattering calculations on an accurate ab initio quintet potential-energy surface. Although we consider only collisions in zero field, we focus on the cross sections relevant for magnetic trapping experiments. It is shown that evaporative cooling of both fermionic (14)NH and bosonic (15)NH is likely to be successful for hyperfine states that allow s-wave collisions. The calculated cross sections are very sensitive to the details of the interaction potential, due to the presence of (quasi)bound state resonances. The remaining inaccuracy of the ab initio potential-energy surface therefore gives rise to an uncertainty in the numerical cross-section values. However, based on a sampling of the uncertainty range of the ab initio calculations, we conclude that the exact potential is likely to be such that the elastic-to-inelastic cross-section ratio is sufficiently large to achieve efficient evaporative cooling. This likelihood is only weakly dependent on the size of the channel basis set used in the scattering calculations.

arXiv:1012.0804•The Journal of Chemical Physics•Mar 28, 2011•25 citations

Potential energy surface and cold collision dynamics of Xe-NH(X3∑-) system

Qiao Zheng sup sup, Wang Ya-li, Wu Ming-Wei +2 more

Sympathetic cooling is one of the most promising techniques for producing ultracold molecules from precooled molecules. Previous researches have shown that it is inadequate to use the ultracold alkali-metal atoms as coolant for sympathetic cooling. To explore the possibility of ultracold alkali-earth-metal atoms as coolant, in this paper a theoretical investigation is performed of the cold collision dynamics for Xe-NH(X3∑-) system in magnetic fields. The interaction potential energies of Xe-NH complex are calculated respectively by using the single and double excitation coupled-cluster theory with the noniterative treatment of triple excitations[CCSD(T)] method and complete basis set limit extrapolated method. An analytic express of potential energy surface (PES) is given for the first time. A single global minimum value occurs at R=7.14a0, θ=102.76° with an energy of-153.54 cm-1, and the PES has a weak anisotropy. Combine the ab initio PES with quantum scattering theory, then the cold collisional dynamics of Xe-NH system in a magnetic field will be studied. The elastic and inelastic transition cross sections and their ratios of NH molecules in the lowest low-field following state (n=0, mj=1) under different magnetic fields and collisional energies are calculated. The results show that the elastic cross section is independent of magnetic field, and the inelastic cross section changes with magnetic field, especially at an ultracold temperature. A common rule of thumb is that to successfully implement cooling, the ratio of elastic cross section to inelastic cross section needs to reach 100 at least. The results suggest that it is likely to be a challenging work to perform sympathetic cooling of NH molecule by ultracold Xe atom.

Acta Physica Sinica•Jan 1, 2018•0 citations

Creating ultracold molecules by collisions with ultracold rare-gas atoms in an optical trap

Paolo Barletta, Jonathan Tennyson, P. F. Barker

We study collisions of para-${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ with five rare-gas atomic species (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe) over the range from $1\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\text{to}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}1\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{K}$ and evaluate the feasibility of sympathetic cooling ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ with ultracold ground state rare-gas atoms co-trapped within a deep optical trap. Collision cross sections over this large temperature range show that all of these species could be used to cool ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ to ultracold temperatures and that argon and helium are the most promising species for future experiments. A simple yet accurate method for calculating the microscopic observables needed in the present analysis is also described, as well as the sensitivity of the calculated cross sections to the potential energy surface used.

arXiv:0806.1196•Physical Review A•Nov 13, 2008•26 citations

Low-temperature collisions of Na2 with He

Wang Yue, Dong De-Zhi, Weiyan Li +3 more

The close coupling calculation of rotationally inelastic collision of He with Na2 is first performed by employing a recently computed ab initio potential energy surface. The process of rovibrational energy excitation and relaxation of Na2 in collision with He has been studied in detail based on the single and double exitations coupled cluster with a noniterative perturbation treatment of triple excitations CCSD （T） potential energy surface. Our results are in good agreement with the experimental results. Our results show that: （1）The elastic cross section（Δj=0） is much larger than the inelastic cross section. （2）The largest amplitude occurs at small scattering angles. At low Δj transition, the He projectile is predominantly forward scattering. Backward scattering occurs as Δj increases. （3）For inelastic cross section, the most effective transition is that with Δj=2.（4）The fast narrow diffraction oscillations in the cross sections are the obvious characteristics for the low Δj inelastic transitions, which decreases with increasing j. （5）The elastic differential-cross-sections（DCS）provides a useful visualization of rotational rainbows at low translational energy. It is beneficial to reducing the loss in molecular cooling and trapping.

Acta Physica Sinica•Jan 1, 2009•1 citation

Cold NH–NH collisions in a magnetic field: Basis set convergence versus sensitivity to the interaction potential

Yu. V. Suleimanov, Timur V. Tscherbul

Abstract We explore the combined effect of the uncertainties due to the interaction potential and basis set convergence on low-temperature collisional properties of spin-polarized NH molecules in a magnetic field. We show that quantum scattering calculations with different rotational basis sets and λ -scaled interaction potentials produce qualitatively different ratios of elastic to inelastic cross sections for collision energies above 10 −3 cm −1 , leading to favorable (unfavorable) prospects for sympathetic cooling of NH molecules depending on the basis set cutoff parameter N max . The physical reason behind this effect is that the resonance widths, which determine the maximum variation of the scattering cross sections with λ , tend to depend strongly on N max . At ultralow collision energies, all basis sets produce highly uncertain (and statistically indistinguishable) elastic and inelastic cross sections; however, their ratio γ is much less sensitive to small variations of the interaction potential. Our results highlight the importance of basis set convergence in quantum scattering calculations and establish the existence of parameter regimes where unconverged calculations can still be used to make qualitatively accurate predictions of scattering observables.

Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics•Oct 4, 2016•10 citations
We present a theoretical study of elastic and rotationally inelastic collisions of NH3 and ND3 with rare gas atoms (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe) at low energy. Quantum close-coupling calculations have been performed for energies between 0.001 and 300 cm(-1). We focus on collisions in which NH3 is initially in the upper state of the inversion doublet with j = 1, k = 1, which is the most relevant in an experimental context as it can be trapped electrostatically and Stark-decelerated. We discuss the presence of resonances in the elastic and inelastic cross sections, as well as the trends in the inelastic cross sections along the rare gas series and the differences between NH3 and ND3 as a colliding partner. We also demonstrate the importance of explicitly taking into account the umbrella (inversion) motion of NH3 in order to obtain accurate scattering cross sections at low collision energy. Finally, we investigate the possibility of sympathetic cooling of ammonia using cold or ultracold rare gas atoms. We show that some systems exhibit a large ratio of elastic to inelastic cross sections in the cold regime, which is promising for sympathetic cooling experiments. The close-coupling calculations are based on previously reported ab initio potential energy surfaces for NH3-He and NH3-Ar, as well as on new, four-dimensional, potential energy surfaces for the interaction of ammonia with Ne, Kr, and Xe, which were computed using the coupled-cluster method and large basis sets. We compare the properties of the potential energy surfaces corresponding to the interaction of ammonia with the various rare gas atoms.
We carry out quantum inelastic scattering calculations of collisions of Rb atoms with inverting NH3{\text{NH}}_{3}NH3​ and ND3{\text{ND}}_{3}ND3​ molecules in the energy range between 0 and $100\text{ }{\text{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$, which are important for experiments using velocity-controlled molecular beams to probe scattering resonances. We focus on molecules initially in the upper level of the ammonia inversion doublet for j=1j=1j=1, k=1k=1k=1, which is low-field seeking and can be controlled in a Stark decelerator. We calculate the integral elastic and state-to-state inelastic cross sections in the coupled-states approximation. We demonstrate the presence of both shape and Feshbach resonances in the elastic and inelastic cross sections at low collision energies and discuss their origin in terms of the bound states of the Rb-ND3{\text{ND}}_{3}ND3​ complex. We also consider elastic and inelastic cross sections in the ultracold regime, using close-coupling calculations, in order to assess the viability of sympathetic cooling of ND3{\text{ND}}_{3}ND3​ by Rb. The inelastic cross section for relaxation to the lower level of the inversion doublet is smaller than expected for such a strongly coupled system but is still likely to be too large to allow sympathetic cooling for ND3{\text{ND}}_{3}ND3​ in low-field-seeking states. However, there is a good prospect that sympathetic cooling will be possible for molecules in high-field-seeking states even when the collision partner is a magnetically trapped atom in a low-field-seeking state.
We present elastic and inelastic spin-changing cross sections for cold and ultracold NH(X (3)Σ(-)) + NH(X (3)Σ(-)) collisions, obtained from full quantum scattering calculations on an accurate ab initio quintet potential-energy surface. Although we consider only collisions in zero field, we focus on the cross sections relevant for magnetic trapping experiments. It is shown that evaporative cooling of both fermionic (14)NH and bosonic (15)NH is likely to be successful for hyperfine states that allow s-wave collisions. The calculated cross sections are very sensitive to the details of the interaction potential, due to the presence of (quasi)bound state resonances. The remaining inaccuracy of the ab initio potential-energy surface therefore gives rise to an uncertainty in the numerical cross-section values. However, based on a sampling of the uncertainty range of the ab initio calculations, we conclude that the exact potential is likely to be such that the elastic-to-inelastic cross-section ratio is sufficiently large to achieve efficient evaporative cooling. This likelihood is only weakly dependent on the size of the channel basis set used in the scattering calculations.
Sympathetic cooling is one of the most promising techniques for producing ultracold molecules from precooled molecules. Previous researches have shown that it is inadequate to use the ultracold alkali-metal atoms as coolant for sympathetic cooling. To explore the possibility of ultracold alkali-earth-metal atoms as coolant, in this paper a theoretical investigation is performed of the cold collision dynamics for Xe-NH(X3∑-) system in magnetic fields. The interaction potential energies of Xe-NH complex are calculated respectively by using the single and double excitation coupled-cluster theory with the noniterative treatment of triple excitations[CCSD(T)] method and complete basis set limit extrapolated method. An analytic express of potential energy surface (PES) is given for the first time. A single global minimum value occurs at R=7.14a0, θ=102.76° with an energy of-153.54 cm-1, and the PES has a weak anisotropy. Combine the ab initio PES with quantum scattering theory, then the cold collisional dynamics of Xe-NH system in a magnetic field will be studied. The elastic and inelastic transition cross sections and their ratios of NH molecules in the lowest low-field following state (n=0, mj=1) under different magnetic fields and collisional energies are calculated. The results show that the elastic cross section is independent of magnetic field, and the inelastic cross section changes with magnetic field, especially at an ultracold temperature. A common rule of thumb is that to successfully implement cooling, the ratio of elastic cross section to inelastic cross section needs to reach 100 at least. The results suggest that it is likely to be a challenging work to perform sympathetic cooling of NH molecule by ultracold Xe atom.
We study collisions of para-H2{\mathrm{H}}_{2}H2​ with five rare-gas atomic species (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe) over the range from $1\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\text{to}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}1\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{K}$ and evaluate the feasibility of sympathetic cooling H2{\mathrm{H}}_{2}H2​ with ultracold ground state rare-gas atoms co-trapped within a deep optical trap. Collision cross sections over this large temperature range show that all of these species could be used to cool H2{\mathrm{H}}_{2}H2​ to ultracold temperatures and that argon and helium are the most promising species for future experiments. A simple yet accurate method for calculating the microscopic observables needed in the present analysis is also described, as well as the sensitivity of the calculated cross sections to the potential energy surface used.
The close coupling calculation of rotationally inelastic collision of He with Na2 is first performed by employing a recently computed ab initio potential energy surface. The process of rovibrational energy excitation and relaxation of Na2 in collision with He has been studied in detail based on the single and double exitations coupled cluster with a noniterative perturbation treatment of triple excitations CCSD （T） potential energy surface. Our results are in good agreement with the experimental results. Our results show that: （1）The elastic cross section（Δj=0） is much larger than the inelastic cross section. （2）The largest amplitude occurs at small scattering angles. At low Δj transition, the He projectile is predominantly forward scattering. Backward scattering occurs as Δj increases. （3）For inelastic cross section, the most effective transition is that with Δj=2.（4）The fast narrow diffraction oscillations in the cross sections are the obvious characteristics for the low Δj inelastic transitions, which decreases with increasing j. （5）The elastic differential-cross-sections（DCS）provides a useful visualization of rotational rainbows at low translational energy. It is beneficial to reducing the loss in molecular cooling and trapping.
Abstract We explore the combined effect of the uncertainties due to the interaction potential and basis set convergence on low-temperature collisional properties of spin-polarized NH molecules in a magnetic field. We show that quantum scattering calculations with different rotational basis sets and λ -scaled interaction potentials produce qualitatively different ratios of elastic to inelastic cross sections for collision energies above 10 −3 cm −1 , leading to favorable (unfavorable) prospects for sympathetic cooling of NH molecules depending on the basis set cutoff parameter N max . The physical reason behind this effect is that the resonance widths, which determine the maximum variation of the scattering cross sections with λ , tend to depend strongly on N max . At ultralow collision energies, all basis sets produce highly uncertain (and statistically indistinguishable) elastic and inelastic cross sections; however, their ratio γ is much less sensitive to small variations of the interaction potential. Our results highlight the importance of basis set convergence in quantum scattering calculations and establish the existence of parameter regimes where unconverged calculations can still be used to make qualitatively accurate predictions of scattering observables.