Atticus Rare Books

Stability of Polyatomic Molecules in Degenerate Electronic States. I - Orbital Degeneracy in Proceedings of the Royal Society of London A 161, 1937, pp. 220-235 [JAHN AND TELLER EFFECT]

Jahn, H. A. and E. Teller

London: Royal Society, 1937. 1st Edition. FULL VOLUME: FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE OF ONE OF THE MOST FASCINATING PHENOMENA IN MODERN PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY”, THE JAHN AND TELLER EFFECT (Bersuker, The Jahn-Teller Effect). In a sophisticated application of group theory to quantum mechanics, Jahn and Teller here prove “that orbital nonlinear spatially degenerate molecules CANNOT be stable” (Wikipedia).

This paper puts forth the groundbreaking prediction that “a nonlinear molecule which is in a degenerate state will seek to change its structure in order to remove as much of the degeneracy as possible;” put another way, “if the lowest energy level of a molecule is degenerate… it will distort spontaneously so as to remove the degeneracy and make one energy level more stable (Seip, The Jahn-Teller Effect, 1976, 1; Weinstein’s World of Chemistry).

“While the basic theorem, first published in 1937, had to await experimental verification for 15 years, the intervening years have seen rapid development, initially in the theoretical arena, followed increasingly by experimental work on molecules and crystals” (Köppel, The Jahn-Teller Effect: Fundamentals and Implications for Physics and Chemistry). Broadly speaking, the Jahn-Teller effect provides “a general approach to understanding the properties of molecules and crystals and their origins” (Bersuker, The Jahn-Teller Effect, Introduction). More specifically, the effect provides an exceptionally useful tool in the study of crystal and molecular configurations.

"The Jahn-Teller effect is one of the most fascinating phenomena in modern physics and chemistry. It emerged in 1934 in a discussion between two famous physicists [Jahn and Teller] and grew into a general tool for understanding [as well as] an approach to solving molecular and crystal problems, which is applicable to any polyatomic problem.

“The first formulation of the effect as instability of molecular configurations in electronically degenerate states proved to be the beginning of a whole trend which rationalizes the origin of all possible instabilities of high-symmetry configurations, and the peculiar nuclear dynamics resulting from these instabilities as well as the origins of all structural symmetry breakings in molecular systems and condensed matter” (Köppel).

The next significant resurgence of interest in the Jahn-Teller effect is related to the late 1980s and is still continuing. It was triggered by one of the most important Nobel Prize discoveries in physics of our times inspired by the Jahn-Teller effect: the high-temperature superconductivity." (Bersuker).

"The Jahn-Teller effect continues to be a paradigm for structural instabilities and dynamical processes in molecules and in the condensed phase… Among the many important developments in the field… cooperative phenomena in crystals, the general importance of pseudo-Jahn-Teller couplings for symmetry-lowering phenomena in molecular systems, nonadiabatic processes at conical intersections of potential energy surfaces and extensions of the basic theory in relation to the discovery of fullerenes and other icosahedral systems" (Koppel).

The effect remains so relevant that The International Symposium on the Jahn-Teller Effects is held bi-annually at differing locations around the world.

ALSO INCLUDED: Douglas Hartree’s "A Method for the Numerical Or Mechanical Solution of Certain Types of Partial Differential Equations and Time-Lag in a Control System”, parts I and II (pp. 353-366 and pp. 460-476). Item #541

CONDITION & DETAILS: London: The Royal Society. Complete volume. 8vo. 8.5 by 5.5 inches (213 x 138mm). [4], vi, [598], 4. Ex-libris with two stamps on the title page and no exterior markings whatsoever. Sixteen plates and many in-text illustrations throughout. Handsomely rebound in brown cloth over aged marbled paper boards, gilt-lettered at the spine and gilt-ruled on the boards. Tightly and very solidly bound. New endpapers. Bright and clean throughout. Near fine condition in every way.

Price: $525.00