The effect of bending vibrations on the dipole moment of a linear polyatomic molecule: A theoretical treatment of the vibrational changes and transition moments

Abstract

The vibrational effect on the dipole moment of a linear molecule is theoretically considered from the aspects of the dipole moment changes with the excitation of bending vibrations and the transition moments for the overtone, combination, and difference bands associated with bending modes. Such dipole moment changes and transition moments consist of two components, one depending on the first dipole moment derivatives with respect to bond lengths and the other depending on the second dipole moment derivatives with respect to bond angles. We show that the first component normally contributes little, and propose an approximation in which only the second component is retained. This approximation is practically important because the second component can be calculated without the anharmonic force constants. We derive formulas for the dipole moment changes and transition moments to facilitate a simultaneous analysis of different isotopic species. We introduce the concept of the equivalent mode, by which we may readily understand the correlation between the dipole moment change for a bending mode and the transition moment for a vibrational band.