The 4H-pyran-4-one (4PN) molecule serves as a model for investigating structural changes following π* ← n electronic excitation. We have recorded the cavity ringdown (CRD) absorption spectrum of 4PN vapor at room temperature, over the wavelength region from 350 to 370 nm. This spectral region includes the T1(n,π*) ← S0 band system as well as the low-energy portion of the S1(n,π*) ← S0 system. Aided by predictions from ab initio (equation-of-motion excitation energies with dynamical correlation incorporated at the level of coupled cluster singles doubles, EOM-EE-CCSD) and density functional theory (time-dependent density functional theory with PBE0 functional, TDPBE0) calculations, we have made vibronic assignments for about 30 features in the CRD spectrum, mostly T1(n,π*) ← S0 transitions. We have used these results to correct certain vibronic assignments appearing in the previous literature for both T1(n,π*) ← S0 and S1(n,π*) ← S0 band systems. We conclude that the lowest-energy carbonyl wagging fundamentals (ν27, in-plane and ν17, out-of-plane) undergo significant frequency drops (28 and 50%, respectively) upon T1(n,π*) ← S0 excitation and similar drops (29 and 39%, respectively) for S1(n,π*) ← S0 excitation. We find that vibrational modes involving the conjugated ring atoms undergo relatively small frequency changes upon π* ← n excitation, for both T1 and S1 states. We have used the present spectroscopic results and vibronic assignments to test the accuracy of computed excited-state frequencies for 4PN. This benchmarking process shows that the economical time-dependent density functional theory method is impressively accurate for certain (but not all) vibrational modes. The highly correlated EOM-EE-CCSD ab initio method is capable of making accurate frequency predictions, but the results, unexpectedly, depend sensitively on basis set family. This anomaly is traceable to a computed conical intersection between the T1(n,π*) and T2(π,π*) surfaces near the T1(n,π*) potential minimum. Relatively small errors in the location of the conical intersection lead to enhanced mixing of the two electronic states and incorrect T1(n,π*) vibrational frequencies when certain triple-ζ quality basis sets are used.

The 2-cyclohexen-1-one (2CHO) molecule serves as a prototype for understanding the photochemical properties of conjugated enones. We have recorded the cavity ringdown (CRD) absorption spectrum of 2CHO vapor at room temperature over the 360-380 nm range. This portion of the spectrum encompasses the S(n,π*) ← S vibronic band system in the region of the C═C and C═O stretch fundamentals. We have assigned about 40 vibronically resolved features in the spectrum, affording fundamental frequencies for 7 different vibrational modes in the S(n,π*) state, including the C═C (1554 cm) and OC-CH (1449 cm) stretch modes. The C═O stretch character is spread over at least four different vibrational modes in the S(n,π*) state, with fundamentals spanning the 1340-1430 cm interval. This finding stems from a significant reduction in C═O bond order upon excitation, which leads to near-coincidence of the C═O stretch and several CH wag frequencies. Such complexities make 2CHO an ideal candidate for testing excited-state computational methods. We have used the present spectroscopic results to test EOM-EE-CCSD harmonic-frequency predictions for the S(n,π*) state. We have also benchmarked the performance of less costly computational methods, including CIS(D) and TDDFT. For certain density functionals (e.g., B3LYP and PBE0), we find that the accuracy of TDDFT frequency predictions can approach but not meet that of EOM-EE-CCSD.

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Magneto-optical measurements have been made of a single layer film of TbFeCo and a multilayer PtCo film both with perpendicular anisotropy. Magnetizing fields were applied at angles in the range 9 = 0" to 60" with respect to the normal. Switching fields and the time dependence of magnetization were measured. The variations of intrinsic switching field as functions of l/cos9 are shown in Fig. 1.

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