Submitted by Chip Nataro / Lafayette College on Mon, 02/09/2026 - 19:04
My Notes
Description

You might be familiar with the wonderful symmetry site that was (to my knowledge) originally published on the Jacobs University site and with the name change to the Constructor University site. In addition to having wonderful character tables, the site allowed you to enter reducible representations that the site would then reduce. It would also allow you to the full range of molecular motions or select vibrations (both IR and Raman active). The site has disappeared from time to time and it is unclear if it will ever return. Thanks to AI, this site restores a tool that has been of tremendous value to students and instructors alike. Once again you can choose point groups and have a site determine the irreducible representations for you.

Learning Goals

Students and faculty should be able to use this tool to find the irreducible representations that constitute a reducible representation. Determining the appropriate point group and reducible representation is up to the user.

Implementation Notes

This was my first attempt at having AI create an app. While I am sure it is not perfect, it is a start. Should you notice any errors or have new features to suggest, please contact the author. The author does not promise to be capable of fixing things, but is willing to try.

For your own edification, this is the prompt that was submitted (original typos included).

design an app that uses group theory. Students should be able to select any point group. One that do that, the appropriate character table should be shown. Then, they can enter a reducible representation which requires them to enter a character for each symmetry operator. The app then asks if they are looking for total molecular motions or select vibrations. The app then reduces the reducible representations. If they are looking for total molecular motions, it will resolve the reducible representations into translations, rotations and vibrations. If they are looking at select vibrations, it will tell them which are IR active and which are Raman active.

The site has (an will?) continue to undergo modifications. It now includes the ability to determine Ligand Group Orbitals (LGOs) and match them with generator functions for a central atom. Additional point groups have also been included. There is also now a guidebook that describes the basics of symmetry operations and point groups.

Time Required
As little or as much as you want
Evaluation
Evaluation Methods

None formally, but it seems to be getting favorable reviews on our Discord server. Not on our Discord, look for instructions on how to join at the top of the home page.

Creative Commons License
Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share Alike CC BY-NC-SA