Point of intersection between the potential energy surfaces of states of different
multiplicity.
Note:
The intersection belongs to a
(
)-dimensional
subspace of the
(
)-dimensional nuclear coordinate space and therefore appears
as a line on a two-dimensional energy surface
(
is the number of nuclei).
In this case the
branching plane is one-dimensional and is defined by the
gradient
difference vector
.
Source:
PAC, 2007, 79, 293
(Glossary of terms used in photochemistry, 3rd edition (IUPAC Recommendations 2006))
on page 421
Cite as:
IUPAC. Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book"). Compiled by
A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford (1997).
XML on-line corrected version: http://goldbook.iupac.org (2006-) created by M. Nic,
J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN 0-9678550-9-8.
https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.
