- #1
jeebs
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- 4
I'm attempting to do some problems in a group theory exercise for the first time and am falling flat on my face. Here's the problem:
"the molecule 'triangulum' consists of 3 identical atoms arranged in an equilateral triangle. Using a basis which consists of a single localised orbital on each atom, xa,xb, and xc, a Hamiltonian for the molecule can be written as [tex] H = \left(\begin{array}{ccc}e&d&d\\d&e&d\\d&d&e\end{array}\right) [/tex]
Consider the operator [tex]R_2_\pi_/_3[/tex] which rotates the molecule through an angle [tex] 2\pi/3 [/tex]. We thus have:
[tex]R_2_\pi_/_3x_a = x_b[/tex]
[tex]R_2_\pi_/_3x_b = x_c[/tex]
[tex]R_2_\pi_/_3x_c = x_a[/tex]
Use these results to obtain a 3x3 matrix representation of [tex]R_2_\pi_/_3[/tex]."
So, I'm fairly lost here. I suspect this is probably straightforward but I've never seen this done before.
The first thing that bothers me is, this is an equilateral triangle molecule we are dealing with. That is a flat object that can be described in 2D, so why do we want a 3D representation of a rotation matrix?
Also I'm struggling to see what I'm supposed to do with the information I've been given. My immediate reaction was just to write down, say, [tex] Hx_a = Ex_a [/tex] where, say, [tex] x_a = \left(\begin{array}{c}a_1\\a_2\\a_3\end{array}\right) [/tex] so that [tex] Hx_a = \left(\begin{array}{c}ea_1 + da_2 + da_3\\da_1 + e_a2 + da_3 \\da_1 + da_2 + ea_3\end{array}\right) [/tex] but I really haven't got a clue what I'm being asked to do here.
"the molecule 'triangulum' consists of 3 identical atoms arranged in an equilateral triangle. Using a basis which consists of a single localised orbital on each atom, xa,xb, and xc, a Hamiltonian for the molecule can be written as [tex] H = \left(\begin{array}{ccc}e&d&d\\d&e&d\\d&d&e\end{array}\right) [/tex]
Consider the operator [tex]R_2_\pi_/_3[/tex] which rotates the molecule through an angle [tex] 2\pi/3 [/tex]. We thus have:
[tex]R_2_\pi_/_3x_a = x_b[/tex]
[tex]R_2_\pi_/_3x_b = x_c[/tex]
[tex]R_2_\pi_/_3x_c = x_a[/tex]
Use these results to obtain a 3x3 matrix representation of [tex]R_2_\pi_/_3[/tex]."
So, I'm fairly lost here. I suspect this is probably straightforward but I've never seen this done before.
The first thing that bothers me is, this is an equilateral triangle molecule we are dealing with. That is a flat object that can be described in 2D, so why do we want a 3D representation of a rotation matrix?
Also I'm struggling to see what I'm supposed to do with the information I've been given. My immediate reaction was just to write down, say, [tex] Hx_a = Ex_a [/tex] where, say, [tex] x_a = \left(\begin{array}{c}a_1\\a_2\\a_3\end{array}\right) [/tex] so that [tex] Hx_a = \left(\begin{array}{c}ea_1 + da_2 + da_3\\da_1 + e_a2 + da_3 \\da_1 + da_2 + ea_3\end{array}\right) [/tex] but I really haven't got a clue what I'm being asked to do here.