SELF-CONSISTENT-FIELD (SCF) THEORY OF HIGHLY SYMMETRICAL OPEN-SHELL MOLECULES - DIFFICULTIES ARISEN IN THE MONOCONFIGURATIONAL APPROXIMATION

Symmetry properties in atoms and molecules are reviewed in the frame o f molecular orbital self-consistent field (MO SCF) theory. In the case of atoms, the spherical symmetry simplifies greatly the equations to be solved. Nevertheless, molecules with high symmetry present certain difficulties, when their electronic configurations are of open shell-t ype.