A mountain-pass in a
potential-energy surface is known as a col or
saddle point. It is a point at which the
gradient is zero along all coordinates, and the curvature is positive along all but one coordinate, which is the
reaction coordinate, along which the curvature is negative.
Source:
PAC, 1996, 68, 149
(A glossary of terms used in chemical kinetics, including reaction dynamics (IUPAC Recommendations 1996))
on page 158
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.
doi:10.1351/goldbook.
