We present a symmetry
projection technique for enforcing rotational
and parity symmetries in nuclear-electronic Hartree–Fock wave
functions, which treat electrons and nuclei on equal footing. The
molecular Hamiltonian obeys rotational and parity inversion symmetries,
which are, however, broken by expanding in Gaussian basis sets that
are fixed in space. We generate a trial wave function with the correct
symmetry properties by projecting the wave function onto representations
of the three-dimensional rotation group, i.e., the special orthogonal
group in three dimensions SO(3). As a consequence, the wave function
becomes an eigenfunction of the angular momentum operator which (i)
eliminates the contamination of the ground-state wave function by
highly excited rotational states arising from the broken rotational
symmetry and (ii) enables the targeting of specific rotational states
of the molecule. We demonstrate the efficiency of the symmetry projection
technique by calculating the energies of the low-lying rotational
states of the H2 and H3
+ molecules.