The present volume is concerned with two of the central questions of chemical dynamics. What do we know about the energies of interaction of atoms and molecules with each other and with solid surfaces? How can such interaction energies be used to understand and make quantitative predictions about dynamical processes like scattering, energy transfer, and chemical reactions? It is becoming clearly recognized that the computer is leading to rapid progress in answering these questions. The computer allows probing dynamical mechanisms in fine detail and often allows us to answer questions that cannot be addressed with current experimental techniques. As we enter the 1980's, not only are more powerful and faster computers being used, but techniques and methods have been honed to a state where exciting and reliable data are being generated on a variety of systems at an unprecedented pace. The present volume presents a collection of work that illustrates the capabilities and some of the successes of this kind of computer-assisted research. In a 1978 Chemical Society Report, Frey and Walsh pointed out that "it is extremely doubtful if a calculated energy of activation for any unimolecular decomposition can replace an experimental deter mination. " However they also recorded that they "believe[d] that some of the elaborate calculations being performed at present do suggest that we may be approaching a time when a choice between reaction mechanisms will be helped by such [computational] work.

Contemporary chemical reaction theory is the characterization of Potential Energy Hypersurfaces (PES). The authors critically analyze chemically and mathematically suitable reaction path definitions. The book presents a simple mathematical analysis of stationary and critical points of the PES. It provides tools for studying chemical reactions by calculating reaction paths and related curves. A further aspect of the book is the dependence of PES properties on approximations used for the analysis. Recent quantum chemical calculations, particularly of single proton transfer processes, and experimental data are compared. The book addresses students and researchers in Theoretical Chemistry, Chemical Kinetics and related fields.

Potential Energy Surfaces is a collection of lectures given at the 1996 Mariapfarr Workshop in Theoretical Chemistry, organized by Alexander F. Sax. The Mariapfarr Workshops' aim is to discuss in-depth topics in Theoretical Chemistry. The target group of these workshops is graduate students and postdocs.

The field of organic chemistry has developed dramatically during the past forty years. This collection includes many of the important areas of current research interest. It is devoted to one of the subfields of theoretical and computational chemistry which continues to provide "grand challenges" as well as unprecedented opportunities - the electronic structure of molecules.

The Reviews in Computational Chemistry series brings together leading authorities in the field to teach the newcomer and update the expert on topics centered on molecular modeling, such as computer-assisted molecular design (CAMD), quantum chemistry, molecular mechanics and dynamics, and quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR). This volume, like those prior to it, features chapters by experts in various fields of computational chemistry. Topics in Volume 31 include: Lattice-Boltzmann Modeling of Multicomponent Systems: An Introduction Modeling Mechanochemistry from First Principles Mapping Energy Transport Networks in Proteins The Role of Computations in Catalysis The Construction of Ab Initio Based Potential Energy Surfaces Uncertainty Quantification for Molecular Dynamics

The calculation of cross sections and rate constants for chemical reactions in the gas phase has long been a major problem in theoretical chemistry. The need for reliable and applicable theories in this field is evident when one considers the significant recent advances that have been made in developing experimental techniques, such as lasers and molecular beams, to probe the microscopic details of chemical reactions. For example, it is now becoming possible to measure cross sections for chemical reactions state selected in the vibrational rotational states of both reactants and products. Furthermore, in areas such as atmospheric, combustion and interstellar chemistry, there is an urgent need for reliable reaction rate constant data over a range of temperatures, and this information is often difficult to obtain in experiments. The classical trajectory method can be applied routinely to simple reactions, but this approach neglects important quantum mechanical effects such as tunnelling and resonances. For all these reasons, the quantum theory of reactive scattering is an area that has received considerable attention recently. This book describes the proceedings of a NATO Advanced Research Workshop held at CECAM, Orsay, France in June, 1985. The Workshop concentrated on a critical examination and discussion of the recent developments in the theory of chemical reaction dynamics, with particular emphasis on quantum theories. Several papers focus on exact theories for reactions.