Reduced gradient methods and their relation to reaction paths

The reaction path is an important concept in theoretical chemistry. We discuss different definitions, their merits as well as their drawbacks: IRC (steepest descent from saddle), reduced gradient following (RGF), gradient extremals, and some others. Many properties and problems are explained by two-dimensional figures. This paper is both a review and a pointer to future research. The branching points of RGF curves are valley-ridge inflection (VRI) points of the potential energy surface. These points may serve as indicators for bifurcations of the reaction path. The VRI points are calculated with the help of Branin's method. All the important features of the potential energy surface are independent of the coordinate system. Besides the theoretical definitions, we also discuss the numerical use of the methods.