Energy levels polyatomic vibration

Haarhoff P C 1963 The density of vibrational energy levels of polyatomic molecules Mol. Phys. 7 101-17... 

As in classical mechanics, the outcome of time-dependent quantum dynamics and, in particular, the occurrence of IVR in polyatomic molecules, depends both on the Flamiltonian and the initial conditions, i.e. the initial quantum mechanical state I /(tQ)). We focus here on the time-dependent aspects of IVR, and in this case such initial conditions always correspond to the preparation, at a time of superposition states of molecular (spectroscopic) eigenstates involving at least two distinct vibrational energy levels. Strictly, IVR occurs if these levels involve at least two distinct... 

Infrared Spectra for Molecules and Polyatomic Ions The energy of infrared radiation is sufficient to produce a change in the vibrational energy of a molecule or polyatomic ion (see Table 10.1). As shown in Figure 10.14, vibrational energy levels are quantized that is, a molecule may have only certain, discrete vibrational energies. The energy for allowed vibrational modes, Ey, is... 

As for diatomic molecules, there are stacks of rotational energy levels associated with all vibrational levels of a polyatomic molecule. The resulting term values S are given by the sum of the rotational and vibrational term values... 

Fig. 11. (a) Diagram of energy levels for a polyatomic molecule. Optical transition occurs from the ground state Ag to the excited electronic state Ai. Aj, are the vibrational sublevels of the optically forbidden electronic state A2. Arrows indicate vibrational relaxation (VR) in the states Ai and Aj, and radiationless transition (RLT). (b) Crossing of the terms Ai and Aj. Reorganization energy E, is indicated. 

For a polyatomic molecule, the complex vibrational motion of the atoms can be resolved into a set of fundamental vibrations. Each fundamental vibration, called a normal mode, describes how the atoms move relative to each other. Every normal mode has its own set of energy levels that can be represented by equation (10.11). A linear molecule has (hr) - 5) such fundamental vibrations, where r) is the number of atoms in the molecule. For a nonlinear molecule, the number of fundamental vibrations is (3-q — 6). 

The Section on Molecular Rotation and Vibration provides an introduction to how vibrational and rotational energy levels and wavefunctions are expressed for diatomic, linear polyatomic, and non-linear polyatomic molecules whose electronic energies are described by a single potential energy surface. Rotations of "rigid" molecules and harmonic vibrations of uncoupled normal modes constitute the starting point of such treatments. 

When exposed to electromagnetic radiation of the appropriate energy, typically in the infrared, a molecule can interact with the radiation and absorb it, exciting the molecule into the next higher vibrational energy level. For the ideal harmonic oscillator, the selection rules are Av = +1 that is, the vibrational energy can only change by one quantum at a time. However, for anharmonic oscillators, weaker overtone transitions due to Av = +2, + 3, etc. may also be observed because of their nonideal behavior. For polyatomic molecules with more than one fundamental vibration, e.g., as seen in Fig. 3.1a for the water molecule, both overtones and... 

Fig. 14.4 Vibrational and rotational energy levels of a polyatomic molecule.

Vibrational states can be described in terms of the normal mode (NM) [50, 51] or the local mode (LM) [37, 52, 53] model. In the former, vibrations in polyatomic molecules are treated as infinitesimal displacements of the nuclei in a harmonic potential, a picture that naturally includes the coupling among the bonds in a molecule. The general formula for the energies of the vibrational levels in a polyatomic molecule is given by [54]... 

Most solution-phase spectra of organic compounds show broad absorption bands, as in Figure 1.7, unlike atomic spectra, which consist of sharp lines. The main reason for this is that there are a large number of vibrational and rotational energy levels associated with polyatomic molecules, and absorption of a photon can result in conversion of a portion of its energy into vibrational or rotational... 

The fundamental frequencies 9t (t = 1, 2,... 3tf—6) are related to and since Xt are the roots of det B—XE) — 0, r, are related to the matrix B and to the molecular force constants Bif. Hence the vibrational energy levels for a non-linear polyatomic molecule in the harmonic oscillator approximation are given by... 

I 2.1 Rotational Energy Levels of Diatomic Molecules, K I 2.2 Vibrational Energy Levels of Diatomic Molecules, 10 I 2.3 Electronic Stales of Diatomic Molecules, 11 I 2.4 Coupling of Rotation and Electronic Motion in Diatomic Molecules Hund s Coupling Cases, 12 1-3 Quantum States of Polyatomic Molecules, 14... 

F ERMI RESONANCE. In polyatomic molecules. Hvo vibrational levels belonging to different vibrations lor combinations of vibrations) may happen lo have nearly die same energy, and therefore be accidentally degenerate. As was recognized hy Fermi in the case of CO such a "resonance" leads to a perturbation of the energy levels that is very similar to the vibrational perturbations of diatomic molecules. 

Equations 7.25 and 7.28 agree very well with experiments for monatomic gases. The relation between cv and cp in Equation 7.28 also works for polyatomic gases, but calculating cv and cp requires a much more sophisticated treatment which explicitly includes the vibrational energy levels. As noted in Chapter 5, for virtually all diatomic gases at room temperature cv 5R/2. 

A molecule can only absorb infrared radiation if the vibration changes the dipole moment. Homonuclear diatomic molecules (such as N2) have no dipole moment no matter how much the atoms are separated, so they have no infrared spectra, just as they had no microwave spectra. They still have rotational and vibrational energy levels it is just that absorption of one infrared or microwave photon will not excite transitions between those levels. Heteronuclear diatomics (such as CO or HC1) absorb infrared radiation. All polyatomic molecules (three or more atoms) also absorb infrared radiation, because there are always some vibrations which create a dipole moment. For example, the bending modes of carbon dioxide make the molecule nonlinear and create a dipole moment, hence CO2 can absorb infrared radiation. 

Diatomic molecules provide a simple introduction to the relation between force constants in the potential energy function, and the observed vibration-rotation spectrum. The essential theory was worked out by Dunham20 as long ago as 1932 however, Dunham used a different notation to that presented here, which is chosen to parallel the notation for polyatomic molecules used in later sections. He also developed the theory to a higher order than that presented here. For a diatomic molecule the energy levels are observed empirically to be well represented by a convergent power-series expansion in the vibrational quantum number v and the rotational quantum number J, the term... 

Computational Techniques. For evaluation of kf by eqs. (7) and (8), the vibrational energy level sum at a given total energy must be found. It has been shown, both through experiment and computation,9 19 20 that for polyatomic molecules, even with energies above 100 kcal. mole-1, it is necessary to use a quantum statistical treatment to find this sum. Classical approximations are totally inadequate and drastically in error. High speed machine computational techniques and simplified approximation formulas have been developed, which allow this quantum-statistical summation to be done with relative ease these methods are described and summarized in Appendix I. 

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