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We present an efficient, analytical, and simple route to approximating tunneling splittings in multidimensional chemical systems, directly from ab initio computations. The method is based on the Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin (WKB) approximation combined with the vibrational perturbation theory. Anharmonicity and corner-cutting effects are implicitly accounted for without requiring a full potential energy surface. We test this method on the following three systems: a model one-dimensional double-well potential, the isomerization of malonaldehyde, and the isomerization of tropolone. The method is shown to be efficient and reliable.

One hundred years ago, Niels Bohr's pioneering paper on the electronic structure of the hydrogen atom revolutionized atomic theory.