Surface relaxation in water clusters: Evidence from theoretical analysis of the oxygen 1s photoelectron spectrum

We present a theoretical interpretation of the oxygen 1s photoelectron spectrum published by Ohrwall et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 123, 054310 (2005)]. A water cluster that contains 200 molecules was simulated at 215 K using the polarizable AMOEBA force field. The force field predicts longer O...O distances at the cluster surface than in the bulk. Comparisons to ab initio molecular dynamics (MD) simulations indicate that the force field underestimates the degree of surface relaxation. By comparing cluster lineshape models, computed from MD simulations, to the experimental spectrum we find further evidence of surface relaxation.