Point group symmetry and cartesian force constant redundancy

A procedure for identifying redundancy in the Cartesian force constant matrix is described, and a prescription is given for generating the entire matrix of second derivatives from the minimal set of information. A proof is supplied which demonstrates that the number of nonredundant rows corresponding to a symmetry unique atom is necessarily less than three if the atom is invariant with respect to a symmetry operation of the point group other than the identity or inversion. Furthermore, only one row is required if the atom lies on a threefold or higher‐order rotation axis. An application of the procedure to the evaluation of harmonic force constants by numerical differentiation of gradient vectors is briefly described.