title: Body frames in the separation of collective angles in quantum N-body problems.
abstract: The application of the concept of body-fixed reference frames, proposed by C. Eckart [Phys. Rev. 47, 552 (1935)], to the problem of the separation of three collective angles in quantum N-body problems is analyzed based on the technique recently developed by Meremianin and Briggs [Phys. Rep. 384, 121 (2003)]. Special attention is paid to the body frame defined by the "second Eckart condition" which minimizes vibro-rotational couplings near the equilibrium position. The important case of the Eckart frame for three-body systems is considered in detail. The connection of the basis vectors of the Eckart frame with Jacobi vectors is derived. All results of this work are valid for an arbitrary choice of internal (body-frame) coordinates.
authors.affiliation: Theoretische Quantendynamik, Fakultat fur Physik, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany. Alexei.Meremianin@physik.uni-freiburg.de
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Meremianin