Diagonal symmetry

Because many physical systems possess certain types of symmetry, its adaptation has become an important issue in theoretical studies of molecules. For example, symmetry facilitates the assignment of energy levels and determines selection rules in optical transitions. In direct diagonalization, symmetry adaptation, often performed on a symmetrized basis, significantly reduces the numerical costs in diagonalizing the Hamiltonian matrix because the resulting block-diagonal structure of the Hamiltonian matrix allows for the separate... 

Now, let us use this symmetry information to discuss the covalent—ionic mixing. The 60 monoionic structures of benzene fall into groups, which are distinguished by the distance between the ionic centers as shown in Fig. 5.5. The ortho-ionic structures are labeled as d>ion(l,2), the meta-ionic as d>ion(l,3), and the para-ionic as d>ion(l,4). For uniformity with other species, the latter will also be called the diagonal-ionic structures, d>ion(diagonal). Symmetry classification of these structures shows that each type of ionic structure has an Alg combination, and this is also the case for structures with higher ionicity (di-ionic, etc.). In total, the entire set of 170 ionic structures of benzene... 

Therefore, zero, one, two or all three coordinates change their signs, but this only holds for symmetry elements of the first and second order when they are aligned with one of the three major crystallographic axes. Symmetry operations describing both diagonal symmetry elements and symmetry elements with higher order (i.e. three-, four- and six-fold rotations) may cause permutations and more complex relationships between the coordinates. For example ... 

Displacement parameters are included in Eq. 2.97 with all possible permutations of indices. Thus, for a conventional anisotropic approximation after considering the diagonal symmetry of the corresponding tensor (Eq. 2.96)... 

Besides the restrictions imposed on the orbital transformations to preserve spin symmetries, it is also useful to preserve spatial symmetry. This is done by allowing transformations only within sets of orbitals having the same symmetry properties and by not allowing these different sets of orbitals to mix. This restriction is accomplished by forcing the off-diagonal symmetry blocks of the K matrix, those labeled by spatial orbitals belonging to different symmetry types, to be zero. The notation required to label the symmetry species of the orbitals is somewhat cumbersome and will not be used except when explicitly required. 

The symmetry argument actually goes beyond the above deterniination of the symmetries of Jahn-Teller active modes, the coefficients of the matrix element expansions in different coordinates are also symmetry determined. Consider, for simplicity, an electronic state of symmetiy in an even-electron molecule with a single threefold axis of symmetry, and choose a representation in which two complex electronic components, e ) = 1/v ( ca) i cb)), and two degenerate complex nuclear coordinate combinations Q = re " each have character T under the C3 operation, where x — The bras e have character x. Since the Hamiltonian operator is totally symmetric, the diagonal matrix elements e H e ) are totally symmetric, while the characters of the off-diagonal elements ezf H e ) are x. Since x = 1, it follows that an expansion of the complex Hamiltonian matrix to quadratic terms in Q. takes the form... 

Symmetry considerations forbid any nonzero off-diagonal matrix elements in Eq. (68) when f(x) is even in x, but they can be nonzero if f x) is odd, for example,/(x) = x. (Note that x itself hansforms as B2 [284].) Figure 3 shows the outcome for the phase by the continuous phase tracing method for cycling... 

The eigenvalues of this mabix have the form of Eq. (68), but this time the matrix elements are given by Eqs. (84) and (85). The symmetry arguments used to determine which nuclear modes couple the states, Eq. (81), now play a cracial role in the model. Thus the linear expansion coefficients are only nonzero if the products of symmebies of the electronic states at Qq and the relevant nuclear mode contain the totally symmebic inep. As a result, on-diagonal matrix elements are only nonzero for totally symmebic nuclear coordinates and, if the elecbonic states have different symmeby, the off-diagonal elements will only... 

For states of different symmetry, to first order the terms AW and W[2 are independent. When they both go to zero, there is a conical intersection. To connect this to Section III.C, take Qq to be at the conical intersection. The gradient difference vector in Eq. f75) is then a linear combination of the symmetric modes, while the non-adiabatic coupling vector inEq. (76) is a linear combination of the appropriate nonsymmetric modes. States of the same symmetry may also foiiti a conical intersection. In this case it is, however, not possible to say a priori which modes are responsible for the coupling. All totally symmetric modes may couple on- or off-diagonal, and the magnitudes of the coupling determine the topology. 

The remaining combinations vanish for symmetry reasons [the operator transforms according to B (A") hreducible representation]. The nonvanishing of the off-diagonal matrix element fl+ is responsible for the coupling of the adiabatic electronic states. 

Regardless of whether symmetry is used to bloek diagonalize the mass-weighted Hessian, six (for non-linear moleeules) or five (for linear speeies) of the eigenvalues will equal zero. The eigenveetors belonging to these zero eigenvalues deseribe the 3 translations and 2 or 3 rotations of the moleeule. For example. 

The method of vibrational analysis presented here ean work for any polyatomie moleeule. One knows the mass-weighted Hessian and then eomputes the non-zero eigenvalues whieh then provide the squares of the normal mode vibrational frequeneies. Point group symmetry ean be used to bloek diagonalize this Hessian and to label the vibrational modes aeeording to symmetry. 

Symmetry tools are used to eombine these M objeets into M new objeets eaeh of whieh belongs to a speeifie symmetry of the point group. Beeause the hamiltonian (eleetronie in the m.o. ease and vibration/rotation in the latter ease) eommutes with the symmetry operations of the point group, the matrix representation of H within the symmetry adapted basis will be "bloek diagonal". That is, objeets of different symmetry will not interaet only interaetions among those of the same symmetry need be eonsidered. 

These six matrices can be verified to multiply just as the symmetry operations do thus they form another three-dimensional representation of the group. We see that in the Ti basis the matrices are block diagonal. This means that the space spanned by the Tj functions, which is the same space as the Sj span, forms a reducible representation that can be decomposed into a one dimensional space and a two dimensional space (via formation of the Ti functions). Note that the characters (traces) of the matrices are not changed by the change in bases. 

Most ah initio calculations use symmetry-adapted molecular orbitals. Under this scheme, the Hamiltonian matrix is block diagonal. This means that every molecular orbital will have the symmetry properties of one of the irreducible representations of the point group. No orbitals will be described by mixing dilferent irreducible representations. 

The main symmetry elements in SFg can be shown, as in Figure 4.12(b), by considering the sulphur atom at the centre of a cube and a fluorine atom at the centre of each face. The three C4 axes are the three F-S-F directions, the four C3 axes are the body diagonals of the cube, the six C2 axes join the mid-points of diagonally opposite edges, the three df, planes are each halfway between opposite faces, and the six d planes join diagonally opposite edges of the cube. 

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