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Diffusion Monte Carlo Studies Of Quantum Solvation: Finding Nodal Functions Of Wavefunctions Using A Genetic Algorithm, Christina Hansen Howell

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Solvation is important in many chemical reactions since most reactions occur in solution. Recently, progress has been made using helium-4 nanodroplets as the solvent at temperatures close to absolute zero. Because helium-4 is a superfluid it solvates dissolved molecules much differently that does a conventional solvent. This opens up the possibility of performing new types of chemistry in the superfluid environment. However, the nature of the interaction of the dissolved species with the solvent remains poorly understood. The basic question to be answered in this project is: how does the quantum solvent perturb the rotational dynamics of the solute particles? …