Multiple Transition States and Roaming in Ion-Molecule Reactions: a Phase Space Perspective
arXiv:1309.6432 · doi:10.1016/j.cplett.2013.12.051
Abstract
We provide a dynamical interpretation of the recently identified `roaming' mechanism for molecular dissociation reactions in terms of geometrical structures in phase space. These are NHIMs (Normally Hyperbolic Invariant Manifolds) and their stable/unstable manifolds that define transition states for ion-molecule association or dissociation reactions. The associated dividing surfaces rigorously define a roaming region of phase space, in which both reactive and nonreactive trajectories can be trapped for arbitrarily long times.
20 pages, 6 figures