Molecular wave functions and properties

The theory of resonance should not be identified with the valence-bond method of making approximate quantum-mechanical calculations of molecular wave functions and properties. The theory of resonance is essentially a chemical theory (an empirical theory, obtained largely by induction from the results of chemical experiments). Classical structure theory was developed purely from chemical facts, without any help from physics. The theory of resonance was also well on... 

A. Streitwieser, Jr. and P. H. Owens, Orbital and Electron Density Diagrams. Macmillan, New York, 1973 L. C. Snyder and H. Basch, Molecular Wave Functions and Properties. Wiley (Interscience), New York, 1972. 

Snyder, L. C., Basch, H. Molecular wave functions and properties. New York Wiley-Inter-science 1972... 

L. C. Snyder, and H. Basch, Molecular Wave Functions and Properties , Wiley, New York 1972. 

Qualitative information about molecular wave functions and properties can often be obtained from the symmetry of the molecule. By the symmetry of a molecule, we mean the symmetry of the framework formed by the nuclei held fixed in their equilibrium positions. (Our starting point for molecular quantum mechanics will be the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, which regards the nuclei as fixed when solving for the electronic wave function see Section 13.1.) The symmetry of a molecule can differ in different electronic states. For example, HCN is linear in its ground electronic state, but nonlinear in certain excited states. Unless otherwise specified, we shall be considering the symmetry of the ground electronic state. 

T. Helgaker and J. Almlof, /. Chem. Phys., 89, 4889 (1988). Molecular Wave Functions and Properties Calculated Using Floating Gaussian Orbitals. 

In this chapter, we discussed the permutational symmetry properties of the total molecular wave function and its various components under the exchange of identical particles. We started by noting that most nuclear dynamics treatments carried out so far neglect the interactions between the nuclear spin and the other nuclear and electronic degrees of freedom in the system Hamiltonian. Due to... 

Symmetry considerations have long been known to be of fundamental importance for an understanding of molecular spectra, and generally molecular dynamics [28-30]. Since electrons and nuclei have distinct statistical properties, the total molecular wave function must satisfy appropriate symmehy... 

Let us examine a special but more practical case where the total molecular Hamiltonian, H, can be separated to an electronic part, W,.(r,s Ro), as is the case in the usual BO approximation. Consequendy, the total molecular wave function fl(R, i,r,s) is given by the product of a nuclear wave function X uc(R, i) and an electronic wave function v / (r, s Ro). We may then talk separately about the permutational properties of the subsystem consisting of electrons, and the subsystemfs) formed of identical nuclei. Thus, the following commutative laws Pe,Hg =0 and =0 must be satisfied X =... 

Valence bond and molecular orbital theory both incorporate the wave description of an atom s electrons into this picture of H2 but m somewhat different ways Both assume that electron waves behave like more familiar waves such as sound and light waves One important property of waves is called interference m physics Constructive interference occurs when two waves combine so as to reinforce each other (m phase) destructive interference occurs when they oppose each other (out of phase) (Figure 2 2) Recall from Section 1 1 that electron waves m atoms are characterized by their wave function which is the same as an orbital For an electron m the most stable state of a hydrogen atom for example this state is defined by the Is wave function and is often called the Is orbital The valence bond model bases the connection between two atoms on the overlap between half filled orbifals of fhe fwo afoms The molecular orbital model assembles a sef of molecular orbifals by combining fhe afomic orbifals of all of fhe atoms m fhe molecule... 

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