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Topology of the Complicated Jahn-Teller Intersection
This flower-like structure is a graph to help illustrate the energy of electrons in a molecule called sym-triazine. The theoretical approach behind the graph is part of a larger effort that helped explain how sym-triazine can simultaneously break into three equal parts. Most molecules break apart one step at a time, so the phenomenon itself is rare. Researchers at the University of Southern California used a theoretical approach to chemistry to produce the graph, explaining the experimental results that emerged from research conducted by collaborators at the University of California, San Diego. The researchers reported their findings in the Aug. 8, 2008, issue of the journal Science.
To learn more about this research, see the USC news story "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do." [This work was supported by National Science Foundation grant CHE 06-16271, under the auspices of the iOpenShell (Center for Computational Studies of Electronic Structure and Spectroscopy of Open-Shell and Electronically Excited Species), supported by NSF through the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities program (grants CHE 06-16271, CHE 06-25419, CHE 06-24602 and CHE 06-25237).] (Date of Image: 2008)
Credit: Vadim Mozhayskiy and Anna I. Krylov, Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California
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