Update:  We’re on the cover!

Yinan and I recently collaborated with the group of Marcos Dantus and Ned Jackson to study the ionization of polyatomic molecules in strong laser fields.  Together, we find that seemingly similar organic molecules (ortho/meta/para isomers of methyl acetophenone, for example) can behave very differently under strong laser fields, and that these differences in behavior can be explained if we hypothesize that, even under strong field conditions, ionization leaves behind a relatively cold ion in its electronic ground state.  In fact, small energetic differences attributable to positional isomerism are still at work even at >10^13 W / cm^2!  Check it out.

Our paper with the Lunt group is on the cover of the most recent issue of Advanced Optical Materials.  That TLSC sure is transparent!

Take a look at Garrett’s new paper on norm-preserving interpolation (NPI), our new scheme for computing time-derivative couplings.  NPI is designed to allow accurate integration of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation in spawning and surface hopping simulations even when the nonadiabatic coupling spikes on a timescale shorter than the simulation time step.  It is easy to implement and does not require analytic calculations of the non-adiabatic coupling matrix elements.

Check out our work with the group of Richard Lunt of the MSU Chemical Engineering Department in our new paper in Advanced Optical Materials.  With the goal of using windows for solar energy conversion, Richard’s group has developed devices which are nearly perfectly transparent to visible light, but use IR absorbing/emitting chromophores to concentrate light on photovoltaic cells around the edge of the device.  Our calculations point towards ways to optimize the chromophores for larger devices by minimizing reabsorption losses.