Theoretical Study on the Nonadiabatic Transitions in the Photodissociation of Cl2, Br2, and I2

We have theoretically studied the nonadiabatic transitions among the five lower states with the Ω=$1_u$ symmetry ($1_u^{(1)} to 1_u^{(5)}$) in the photodissociation of Cl₂, Br₂, and I₂by using the spin-orbit configuration interaction (SOCI) method and the semiclassical time-dependent coupled Schrodinger equations. From the configuration analyses of the SOCI wavefunctions, we found that the nonadiabatic transition between $1_u^{(2)}$ and $1_u^{(1)}$ is a noncrossing type, while that between $1_u^{(3)}$ and $1_u^{(4)}$ is a crossing type for all the molecules. The behavior of the radial derivative coupling element between $1_u^{(1)}$ and $1_u^{(2)}$ and that between $1_u^{(3)}$ and $1_u^{(4)}$ is analyzed in detail. In Cl₂, nonadiabatic transitions can take place even between the states correlating to different dissociation limits, while in Br₂ and I₂, with the usual photon energies e.g. less than 20 eV, nonadiabatic transitions occur only between the states correlating to the same dissociation limits, reflecting the different magnitudes of the spin-orbit interactions.