This dissertation explores the coupling of internal rotation to the overall rotation ofmolecules and is divided into three distinct sections. The first section is a traditional torsion-
rotation problem studying the Ka band spectrum of methyl tert-butyl ether, a gasoline additive.
The molecule is extremely prolate (κ = −0.991) and has three possible large amplitude motions:
methoxy methyl torsion, tert-butyl torsion, and geared methyl torsion. These three internal ro-
tations were investigated by MP2/cc-pVDZ calculations, and the methoxy methyl torsion was
predicted to be the most influential in the microwave spectrum. Using a recently constructed Ka
band chirped-pulsed Fourier Transform Microwave Spectrometer, the torsional-rotational spectrum
of this molecule was recorded. Due to the minimal molecular asymmetry, the A state spectrum
resembled that of a symmetric top, while the torsion-rotation coupling in the E state spectrum
broke the near symmetric pattern and was a more typical asymmetric top spectrum. A total of
405 transitions were recorded and fit using XIAM, and the methyl torsional barrier height was
determined to be 495.648(720) cm−1 .
The second section describes a new program, westerfit, for Cs molecules with internal
rotation and spin angular momentum. The code implements a single diagonalization Rho Axis
Method approach for the torsion-rotation alongside a complete treatment of nuclear quardupole
interaction and spin-rotation coupling. Unlike other programs designed for internal rotation with
spin effects, westerfit includes matrix elements off-diagonal in the rotational angular momentum
quantum number, N , rather than the perturbative treatment of the spin-rotation and quadrupole
interactions. This full combined approach allows fitting of all symmetrically allowed terms in both
the spin-rotation and the quadrupole tensors as well as inclusion of any higher order terms coupling
the large amplitude motion to the spin angular momentum. The program was benchmarked against
other published programs and found to be capable of reproducing results from three different
programs. Particular interest was paid to meta-chlorotoluene as this molecule has a low internal
rotation barrier and a spin 3/2 nucleus which make it the exact type of molecule the program
was designed to treat. Previous attempts to fit this molecule were complicated in part by XIAM’s
limitations at very low barrier heights and its perturbative quadrupole treatment. While the new
fit in westerfit does offer reduced RMS error and better precision on the spectroscopic parameters,
transitions from excited torsional states will likely be necessary to accurately determine the barrier
height.
The final section details the theoretical interactions between the methyl rotation and a
single unpaired electron’s spin angular momentum. A Hamiltonian for spin-torsion-rotation in the
Rho Axis System was determined and the matrix element of the spin-torsion coupling operator
was derived as well as possible definitions for calculating the associated parameter. The operator
was implemented into the code described in the preceding chapter and was used for the theoretical
investigations. The interaction of this operator with other second order operators was explored
with the spin-torsion coupling being most sensitive to the torsional barrier height. Coupled cluster
parameters for the example molecule, meta-methyl-phenoxyl, were calculated, and spin-torsion-
rotation spectra were simulated with the spin-torsion term at zero and at a non-zero value. When
the spin-torsion term was changed from zero, most of the simulated transitions underwent a subtle
shift that was not uniform in magnitude or direction. The work presented here should provide a
foundation for future work on the rotational spectra of radicals with internal rotation.