title: Dynamics of photoexcited Ba(+) cations in (4)He nanodroplets.
abstract: We present a joint experimental and theoretical study on the desolvation of Ba(+) cations in (4)He nanodroplets excited via the 6p ← 6s transition. The experiments reveal an efficient desolvation process yielding mainly bare Ba(+) cations and Ba(+)Hen exciplexes with n = 1 and 2. The speed distributions of the ions are well described by Maxwell-Boltzmann distributions with temperatures ranging from 60 to 178 K depending on the excitation frequency and Ba(+) Hen exciplex size. These results have been analyzed by calculations based on a time-dependent density functional description for the helium droplet combined with classical dynamics for the Ba(+). In agreement with experiment, the calculations reveal the dynamical formation of exciplexes following excitation of the Ba(+) cation. In contrast to experimental observation, the calculations do not reveal desolvation of excited Ba(+) cations or exciplexes, even when relaxation pathways to lower lying states are included.
authors.affiliation: Departament ECM, Facultat de Física, and INUB, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leal
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Chimie Physique Moléculaire, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Xiaohang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Departament ECM, Facultat de Física, and INUB, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barranco
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie Molecolari (ISTM), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, via Golgi 19, 20133 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Fausto
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cargnoni
authors.affiliation: Social Thermodynamics Applied Research (SThAR), EPFL Innovation Park, Bâtiment C, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hernando
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University at Northridge, Northridge, California 91330, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mateo
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienza ed Alta Tecnologia, Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, via Valleggio 11, 22100 Como, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mella
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Chimie Physique Moléculaire, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Drabbels
authors.affiliation: Departament ECM, Facultat de Física, and INUB, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Martí
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pi