Intermolecular potentials, internal motions, and spectra of van der Waals and hydrogen-bonded complexes

A review is given on the relation between intermolecular potentials and the spectra of van der Waals molecules. First, an overview of the computational methods leading to ab initio spectra that may be compared directly with experimental spectra is presented. Following this, some examples of the synergy between theory and experiment are discussed. Finally, the recent literature is covered, focusing on some prototype systems which have received the most attention and for which the development of theory and experiment have gone hand in hand.