We calculate absorption spectra for various charge ordering (CO) states in
the two-dimensional extended Hubbard model at quarter filling with the rand
om phase approximation. Each CO state has: its own characteristic and aniso
tropic excitations. In principle, these features should be observed in the
optical measurements and tell which CO state is realized in the theta-(ET)(
2)X salts. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.