Molecular symmetry and optical inactivity

Is preservation of symmetry necessary for coarse-graining?

“…Symmetries in molecules have a significant impact on their properties. Previously, molecular symmetry has been exploited to simplify calculation of physical properties [20] (like optical activity [28,5], dipole moment [30], melting point [39,31],solubility [31], infra-red spectrum [32] and Raman spectrum [1]) and chemical properties [14,25]. Besides the point symmetry groups [16] of molecules, another type of symmetry is called the topological symmetry [7,23,8] and refers to the symmetry of the underlying molecular graph where atoms are represented as nodes and bonds as edges [23].…”

Molecular structure and chirality

“…Indeed, a significant portion of the ambiguity concerning chirality arises from an imprecise understanding of this relationship. While the presence of a carbon atom substituted with four different groups is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for chirality (26), there is nevertheless a unique ability of a carbon atom of this type to confer chirality upon many molecules. In describing such a tetrahedral atom neither the terms "chiral" nor "chirotopic" suffice, if only because achiral molecules can contain chirotopic atoms (see below).…”

Is Preservation of Symmetry Necessary for Coarse-Graining?

“…Symmetries in molecules have a significant impact on their properties. Previously, molecular symmetry has been exploited to simplify calculation of physical properties [20] (like optical activity [28,5], dipole moment [30], melting point [39,31],solubility [31], infra-red spectrum [32] and Raman spectrum [1]) and chemical properties [14,25]. Besides the point symmetry groups [16] of molecules, another type of symmetry is called the topological symmetry [7,23,8] and refers to the symmetry of the underlying molecular graph where atoms are represented as nodes and bonds as edges [23].…”