Theoretical studies of absorption cross sections for the C (1)B(2)-X (1)A(1) system of sulfur dioxide and isotope effects.

The C (1)B(2)-X (1)A(1) photoexcitation of SO(2) was studied to investigate excited-state dynamics and the effects of the initial vibrational state. Ultraviolet photoabsorption cross sections (sigma's) of seven isotopologues ((32)S (16)O(2), (33)S (16)O(2), (34)S (16)O(2), (36)S (16)O(2), (32)S(16)O(17)O, (32)S(16)O(18)O, (34)S(16)O(18)O) were computed using the wave packet propagation technique based on the three-dimensional potential energy surfaces of the X and C states, which were calculated using the ab initio molecular orbital configuration interaction method. Numerous wave packet simulations were carried out under the adiabatic approximation and used to calculate the sigma's of the seven isotopologues at 298 K; we concluded that the absorption spectrum of SO(2) can be reliably modeled within the adiabatic framework based on the analysis of the time evolution of the wave packet. The calculated sigma's are in reasonable agreement with the recent experiment in the 190-228 nm region, and the isotope shifts of the peaks for (33)S (16)O(2) and (34)S (16)O(2) relative to the corresponding peaks for (32)S (16)O(2) are in good agreement with the observed data. Relative to the sigma of (32)S (16)O(2), isotopic substitution shows a significant increment for those of (34)S (16)O(2) and (36)S (16)O(2) in the 190-228 nm region. This trend is consistent with the observed data.