Ring-polymer instanton theory

• Published in: International reviews in physical chemistry Vol. 37; no. 2; pp. 171 - 216
• Main Author: Richardson, Jeremy O.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Taylor & Francis 03.04.2018; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Chemical reactions; Computer simulation; Instanton; Organic chemistry; Polymers; Quantum mechanics; Quantum tunnelling; reaction rate theory; ring polymer; tunnelling

Instanton theory provides a simple description of a quantum tunnelling process in terms of an optimal tunnelling pathway. The theory is rigorously based on quantum mechanics principles and is derived from a semiclassical approximation to the path-integral formulation. In multidimensional systems, th...