| Themes > Science > Physics > Molecular Physics > Molecular Spectra > The Franck-Condon principle |
The Franck-Condon principle states that after a molecule is excited from its ground electronic state the nuclear conformation must readjust. This leads to, in general, an increase in the "allowed'' vibronic transitions and hence greatly influences the observed spectrum. For all but the simplest models for the electronic potentials, one must resort to a numerical calculation of the observed spectrum. However if we are able to determine the functional form for the wavefunctions of more complicated models, we can utilize the analytic capabilities of Mathematica to calculate the (Franck-Condon) spectrum. There are a number of interesting models which are simple enough to determine the wavefunctions yet to complicated to work out the theoretical spectra by hand. This project also has application to the vibrational spectra of molecules in the condensed phase. This project will give you experience with and important topic in physical chemistry and also with Mathematica. If you are interested in a project along these lines please stop by and talk to me about it. |
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