Theoretical photoabsorption spectra of Arn+ clusters

The photoabsorption spectra of selected Arn+ clusters (n=7, 8, 17, 19, 23) have been investigated theoretically using an extended Diatomics-in-Molecules approach including induced dipole – induced dipole and spin-orbit coupling interaction effects. Our calculations at 0 K confirm the experimentally observed spectral red-shift of the visible photoabsorption peak in the region 15<n<20 [Levinger et al., J. Chem. Phys. 89 (1988) 5654]. Furthermore, we have been able to reproduce the additional red-shift measured for 7⩽n⩽9 [Haberland et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 67 (1991) 3290] by carrying out finite temperature Monte Carlo simulations.