Nonadiabatic events and conical intersections: in memory of David R. Yarkony

Nonadiabatic processes, defined by the breakdown of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation and the strong coupling of nuclear and electronic motion, are ubiquitous in physics and chemistry. They govern ultrafast dynamics in molecules and materials, photochemistry, molecular spectroscopy, electron transfer, and a range of other phenomena in gas and condensed phases. Central to the description of nonadiabatic processes are conical intersections: molecular geometries where two (or more) electronic potential energy surfaces become degenerate. The significance of nonadiabatic processes and conical intersections in various phenomena in physical chemistry has become increasingly apparent in recent decades.

In this issue we honor the memory of David R. Yarkony, one of the leaders in this field. David R. Yarkony was instrumental in the initial development of methods to locate conical intersections in polyatomic molecules, highlight their prevalence in electronic excited states, and calculate nonadiabatic couplings using developments in ab initio theory. Taken as a whole, his body of research has resulted in new insights into the effects of conical intersections in spectroscopy and dynamics, including photoelectron spectra and photodissociation. This themed collection will highlight recent theoretical and experimental advancements in nonadiabatic processes, conical intersections, and their effects in all areas of physical chemistry. 

Full details: 

Balanced numbers of contributions from experimental and computational groups are expected and welcomed. 

This call for papers is open for the following article types:

• Communications
• Full papers
• Reviews and Perspectives

If you would like to contribute to this themed collection, you can submit your article directly through the journal’s online submission service. Please answer the themed collection question in the submission form when uploading your files to say that this is a contribution to the themed collection and add a “Note to the Editor” that this is from the Open Call. The Editorial Office reserves the right to check suitability of submissions in relation to the scope of both the journal and the collection, and inclusion of accepted articles in the final themed issue is not guaranteed.

All submissions undergo our fair and impartial peer-review and accepted articles will be published online in a citeable form, included in the web collection and published in an issue as soon as they are ready.