Nonadiabatic transitions: what we learned from old masters and how much we owe them

E E Nikitin

doi:10.1146/annurev.physchem.50.1.1

Nonadiabatic transitions: what we learned from old masters and how much we owe them

Annu Rev Phys Chem. 1999:50:1-21. doi: 10.1146/annurev.physchem.50.1.1.

Author

E E Nikitin¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Chemistry, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel. nikitin@techunix.technion.ac.il

PMID: 15012404
DOI: 10.1146/annurev.physchem.50.1.1

Abstract

This chapter discusses the impact of two-state models of nonadiabatic coupling by Landau, Zener, Stuckelberg, Rosen, and Teller on the current theory of nonadiabatic interaction. In particular, the idea of analytical continuation of classical dynamical variables into complex-valued phase space and time is emphasized. The development of the basic models over the past 30 years has provided us with a useful means of investigating the nonadiabatic molecular dynamics; this is illustrated by the references to our earlier and most recent work.