Harmonic oscillator tensors. IV. A tensorial approach to internal rotations in molecules

A mapping of 2×2 matrices into the space of single boson operators is shown to lead to the angular momentum operators that give rise to irreducible tensors for the harmonic oscillator. The mapping may also be used to define an axis of quantization. A rotation about this axis induces a wave function and Hamiltonian that may be applied to the study of internal rotations in molecules. The example of a molecule containing two coaxial symmetric tops is presented as a case in point. The case of a potential with a high barrier leads to the approximation of an internal rotation as a torsional oscillator and, consequently, to torsional oscillator tensors whose properties are the same as those of the harmonic oscillator. The possibility of studying more complex potentials is discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 65 : 305–315, 1997