Classical description of the dynamics and time-resolved spectroscopy of nonadiabatic cis-trans photoisomerization

The mapping formulation of nonadiabatic quantum dynamics is applied to obtain a classical description of the ultrafast dynamics and time-resolved spectroscopy of a photochemical reaction. Adopting a previously studied dissipative two-state two-mode model of nonadiabatic cis-trans photoisomerization, classical mapping simulations are compared to quantum-mechanical reduced density matrix calculations. Overall, the simple classical method is found to reproduce the quantum reference calculations quite well. In particular, it is studied if the classical approach yields the correct long-time cis/trans localization of the wave packet and therefore the correct quantum yield of the photoreaction. As the long-time behavior of the classical mapping formulation suffers from the well-known zero point energy problem of classical mechanics, a new practical method is proposed to determine a zero point energy correction. Employing a second-order Franck-Condon-type approximation, the capability of the classical method to simulate time- and frequency-resolved pump-probe spectra of the nonadiabatic photoreaction is studied. The potential of the classical approach as a practical method to describe condensed-phase photoreactions is discussed.