A development of transition-state theory in which the position of the dividing surface is varied so as to minimize the rate constant at a given temperature.
See also: microcanonical variational transition-state theory
Source:
PAC, 1996, 68, 149. 'A glossary of terms used in chemical kinetics, including reaction dynamics (IUPAC Recommendations 1996)' on page 155 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199668010149)