The Althorpe Group

Welcome to the Althorpe Group Home Page

We are a theoretical group in the Chemistry Department at Cambridge University. Our research investigates how the quantum properties of atomic nuclei affect chemical reaction rates and mechanisms. We develop and apply a wide range of theories and computational techniques, from exact solutions of the Schrödinger equation for small systems, to approximate path-integral approaches for larger systems.

Highlights of our research include the first complete calculation of the wave function of a chemical reaction, a long-running collaboration with the experimental group of Richard Zare at Stanford, the discovery of a topological effect in the quantum dynamics of conical intersections, and the recent development of a new generation of instanton-based methods for computing rates and tunnelling splittings.