Photodissociation of the ArHBr complex investigated with the multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree approach

Abstract

We apply the multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree method to the study of the photodissociation of the Ar–HBr van der Waals complex. The dynamics is studied in both Jacobi and valence coordinates. The evolution of the probability density in the different modes shows that the direct or nearly direct mechanism, where the hydrogen atom interacts only very weakly with the Ar and Br atoms, dominates the dissociation process. By projecting the quantum flux onto the vibrational levels of ArBr, we find at the maximum of the absorption profile, i.e., around E=3 eV, that 65% of the dissociation gives rise to partial fragmentation into hot H fragments and bound ArBr molecules.