Global minimum search of Ag⁺₁₀ with molecular beam optical spectroscopy

The present study is focused on the optical properties of the Ag+10Ag10+ cluster in the photon energy range ℏω = 1.9–4.4 eV. Absorption spectra are recorded by longitudinal molecular beam depletion spectroscopyand compared to optical response calculations using time-dependent density functional theory. Severalcluster isomers obtained by the new pool-based parallel implementation of the Birmingham ClusterGenetic Algorithm, coupled with density functional theory, are used in excited state calculations. The experimental observations, together with additional simulations of ion mobilities for the several geometries found within this work using different models, clearly identify the ground state isomer of Ag+10Ag10+to be composed of two orthogonal interpenetrating pentagonal bipyramids, having overall D 2d symmetry.