Molecules point group

Those which build up an ultimate point group (molecule) from one or more given points (atoms) (rotation axes, symmetry planes, center of symmetry) (Class I) and... 

Point group Molecules belonging to this point group have a rotation axis of order p and a horizontal plane of symmetry perpendicular to the axis. As mentioned is equivalent to or. The point group C2h has an S2 axis coincident with the C2 axis. 

In general, a point group synnnetry operation is defined as a rotation or reflection of a macroscopic object such that, after the operation has been carried out, the object looks the same as it did originally. The macroscopic objects we consider here are models of molecules in their equilibrium configuration we could also consider idealized objects such as cubes, pyramids, spheres, cones, tetraliedra etc. in order to define the various possible point groups. 

As an example, we again consider the PH molecule. In its pyramidal equilibrium configuration PH has all tlnee P-H distances equal and all tlnee bond angles Z(HPH) equal. This object has the point group synnnetry where the operations of the group are... 

Nuclear pemuitations in the N-convention (which convention we always use for nuclear pemuitations) and rotation operations relative to a nuclear-fixed or molecule-fixed reference frame, are defined to transfomi wavefunctions according to (equation Al.4.56). These synnnetry operations involve a moving reference frame. Nuclear pemuitations in the S-convention, point group operations in the space-fixed axis convention (which is the convention that is always used for point group operations see section Al.4.2,2 and rotation operations relative to a space-fixed frame are defined to transfomi wavefiinctions according to (equation Al.4.57). These operations involve a fixed reference frame. 

Rigid linear molecules are a special case in which an extended MS group, rather than the MS group, is isomorphic to the point group of the equilibrium structure see chapter 17 of [1]. 

We now turn to electronic selection rules for syimnetrical nonlinear molecules. The procedure here is to examme the structure of a molecule to detennine what synnnetry operations exist which will leave the molecular framework in an equivalent configuration. Then one looks at the various possible point groups to see what group would consist of those particular operations. The character table for that group will then pennit one to classify electronic states by symmetry and to work out the selection rules. Character tables for all relevant groups can be found in many books on spectroscopy or group theory. Ftere we will only pick one very sunple point group called 2 and look at some simple examples to illustrate the method. 

Each such nonual mode can be assigned a synuuetry in the point group of the molecule. The wavefrmctions for non-degenerate modes have the following simple synuuetry properties the wavefrmctions with an odd vibrational quantum number v. have the same synuuetry as their nonual mode 2the ones with an even v. are totally symmetric. The synuuetry of the total vibrational wavefrmction (Q) is tlien the direct product of the synuuetries of its constituent nonual coordinate frmctions (p, (2,). In particular, the lowest vibrational state. 

It is recommended that the reader become familiar with the point-group symmetry tools developed in Appendix E before proceeding with this section. In particular, it is important to know how to label atomic orbitals as well as the various hybrids that can be formed from them according to the irreducible representations of the molecule s point group and how to construct symmetry adapted combinations of atomic, hybrid, and molecular orbitals using projection operator methods. If additional material on group theory is needed. Cotton s book on this subject is very good and provides many excellent chemical applications. 

So, for any atom, the orbitals can be labeled by both 1 and m quantum numbers, which play the role that point group labels did for non-linear molecules and X did for linear molecules. Because (i) the kinetic energy operator in the electronic Hamiltonian explicitly contains L2/2mer2, (ii) the Hamiltonian does not contain additional Lz, Lx, or Ly factors. 

V. The Nitrogen molecule is in the yz plane for all point groups except the Cs in which case it is placed in the xy plane. 

Before considering other concepts and group-theoretical machinery, it should once again be stressed that these same tools can be used in symmetry analysis of the translational, vibrational and rotational motions of a molecule. The twelve motions of NH3 (three translations, three rotations, six vibrations) can be described in terms of combinations of displacements of each of the four atoms in each of three (x,y,z) directions. Hence, unit vectors placed on each atom directed in the x, y, and z directions form a basis for action by the operations S of the point group. In the case of NH3, the characters of the resultant 12x12 representation matrices form a reducible representation... 

The functions put into the determinant do not need to be individual GTO functions, called Gaussian primitives. They can be a weighted sum of basis functions on the same atom or different atoms. Sums of functions on the same atom are often used to make the calculation run faster, as discussed in Chapter 10. Sums of basis functions on different atoms are used to give the orbital a particular symmetry. For example, a water molecule with symmetry will have orbitals that transform as A, A2, B, B2, which are the irreducible representations of the C2t point group. The resulting orbitals that use functions from multiple atoms are called molecular orbitals. This is done to make the calculation run much faster. Any overlap integral over orbitals of different symmetry does not need to be computed because it is zero by symmetry. 

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