Character table

In group theory, a branch of abstract algebra, a character table is a two-dimensional table whose rows correspond to irreducible representations, and whose columns correspond to conjugacy classes of group elements. The entries consist of characters, the traces of the matrices representing group elements of the column's class in the given row's group representation. In chemistry, crystallography, and spectroscopy, character tables of point groups are used to classify e.g. molecular vibrations according to their symmetry, and to predict whether a transition between two states is forbidden for symmetry reasons. Many university level textbooks on physical chemistry, quantum chemistry, spectroscopy and inorganic chemistry devote a chapter to the use of symmetry group character tables.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

  1. ^ Quantum Chemistry, 3rd ed. John P. Lowe, Kirk Peterson ISBN 0-12-457551-X
  2. ^ Physical Chemistry: A Molecular Approach by Donald A. McQuarrie, John D. Simon ISBN 0-935702-99-7
  3. ^ The chemical bond, 2nd ed. J.N. Murrell, S.F.A. Kettle, J.M. Tedder ISBN 0-471-90760-X
  4. ^ Physical Chemistry, 8th ed. P.W. Atkins and J. de Paula, W.H. Freeman, 2006 ISBN 0-7167-8759-8, chap.12
  5. ^ Molecular Symmetry and Spectroscopy, 2nd ed. Philip R. Bunker and Per Jensen, NRC Research Press, Ottawa, 1998 ISBN 9780660196282
  6. ^ G. L. Miessler and D. A. Tarr Inorganic Chemistry, 2nd ed. Pearson, Prentice Hall, 1998 ISBN 0-13-841891-8, chap.4.