Extra colloquium Mathematics, V. Krajnak, MSc, University of Groningen

Extra colloquium Mathematics

Title: Phase space geometry and invariant manifolds underlying reaction dynamics

In this talk I discuss results of my PhD research, which focused on understanding transport of phase space volumes in Hamiltonian systems and using this knowledge to explain unusual phenomena observed by chemists in two particular chemical reactions. One phenomenon is the stagnation and decrease of the reaction rate with increasing energy for the collinear hydrogen exchange reaction
H+H2 → H2+H that has remained a mystery for several decades. The other one is a recently discovered way of molecules dissociating in a very slow manner, which is referred to as roaming and which is exhibited, e.g.,by CH4+. In both of the Hamiltonian systems that model these reactions, the transport is governed by invariant manifolds of unstable periodic orbits. We will discuss ways of dealing with the complicated structures resulting from the intersections of the invariant manifolds and what the structures imply for the phenomena observed in chemical experiments.

Colloquium coordinators are Prof.dr.A.J. van der Schaft ( a.j.van.der.schaft rug.nl ) and Dr. A.V. Kiselev (e-mail: a.v.kiselev rug.nl )

http://www.rug.nl/research/jbi/news/colloquia/mathematics-colloquia/