Side bands appear in the localhyphen;mode (LM) overtone vibrational spectra of many substances, including the aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons. Many of these side bands are interpretable as being LMndash;LM combination bands of various Cndash;H oscillators in these molecules. The simultaneous excitation of two LMrsquo;s represents the most commonly observed transition of the many LMndash;LM combinations possible. However, such transitions are strictly forbidden as long as the dipole moment and Hamiltonian operators are separable within the LM subspace. The consequences of the breakdown of each of these separabilities is investigated. Application is made to detailed new spectra for benzene (containing the prototypical aromatic Cndash;H oscillator) and tetramethylsilane (containing a prototype of the aliphatic primary Cndash;H oscillator). Multisite terms in the dipole operator are treated empirically and are able to rationalize the intensities of binary LM combination bands. Interhyphen;LM coupling terms in the Hamiltonian are taken from previousabinitiocalculations and normal mode analysis. The Hamiltonian is diagonalized within a truncated basis of LM (anharmonic) eigenfunctions. The new eigenfunctions explain not only the appearance of the side bands correctly, but also account for energy splittings in the spectra, particularly conspicuous at low quantum numbers. Separability for both operators is found to be a good zerothhyphen;order approximation for both molecules, but somewhat less so for tetramethylsilane whose methyl substituents contain three LM oscillators sharing a common atom.
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