Vibronic coupling effects in the C60 molecule

Many recent experiments have established that the Jahn-Teller (JT) effect plays a very important role in determining the properties of the C₆₀ molecule. A review of the underlying theory developed by the Nottingham group is presented for cases in which distinct minima in the potential energy surface occur. This relates directly to the C₆₀ molecule through the consideration of the T ⊗ h and H ⊗ h JT systems. When only linear coupling terms exist in the T ⊗ h system, the minima form a continuous trough of SO(3) symmetry and new methods must be used. Some details of these results are presented.