Professor Harter is supported by a grant from The Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Program to continue his research in developing methods for the interpretation of complex rotation-vibration spectra of gas phase molecules. This research provides an important link between experimental spectroscopic data, and a detailed understanding of the structure and internal dynamics of complex molecular species. Professor Harter has developed a new visual approach to the interpretation of complex rotational spectra which he calls the rotational energy (RE) surface. The symmetries of the molecular states and their quantum wavefunctions are related to classical motion in the neighborhood of various RE surface fixed points. The goal of this research project is to apply the RE surface methods to a wider class of molecules, ions, and clusters to understand their transitions and dynamics in the presence of external perturbations. Current applications of these methods include the analysis of molecules of icosahedral symmetry, including a hypothetical giant carbon-cluster of 60 carbon atoms known as Buckminsterfullerene.
