Making a Spherical Harmonic Surface

Here is some Python code when opened in ChimeraX creates spherical harmonic surfaces. The real part of the spherical harmonic is the surface radius.

r = Ylm(theta, phi) where Ylm is a spherical harmonic, l = 2, m=0,1,2.

Python code for ChimeraX 1.0:

# Make a spherical harmonic surface.

from math import sin, cos, pi, sqrt

def spherical_surface(session,
                      radius_function,
                      theta_steps = 100,
                      phi_steps = 50,
                      positive_color = (255,100,100,255), # red, green, blue, alpha, 0-255 
                      negative_color = (100,100,255,255)):

    # Compute vertices and vertex colors
    vertices = []
    colors = []
    for t in range(theta_steps):
        theta = (t/theta_steps) * 2*pi
        ct, st = cos(theta), sin(theta)
        for p in range(phi_steps):
            phi = (p/(phi_steps-1)) * pi
            cp, sp = cos(phi), sin(phi)
            r = radius_function(theta, phi)
            xyz = (r*sp*ct, r*sp*st, r*cp)
            vertices.append(xyz)
            color = positive_color if r >= 0 else negative_color
            colors.append(color)

    # Compute triangles, triples of vertex indices
    triangles = []
    for t in range(theta_steps):
        for p in range(phi_steps-1):
            i = t*phi_steps + p
            t1 = (t+1)%theta_steps
            i1 = t1*phi_steps + p
            triangles.append((i,i+1,i1+1))
            triangles.append((i,i1+1,i1))

    # Create numpy arrays
    from numpy import array, float32, uint8, int32
    va = array(vertices, float32)
    ca = array(colors, uint8)
    ta = array(triangles, int32)

    # Compute average vertex normal vectors
    from chimerax.surface import calculate_vertex_normals
    na = calculate_vertex_normals(va, ta)

    # Create ChimeraX surface model
    from chimerax.core.models import Surface
    s = Surface('surface', session)
    s.set_geometry(va, na, ta)
    s.vertex_colors = ca
    session.models.add([s])

    return s

# Example spherical harmonic function Y(l=2,m=0) real part.
def y20_re(theta, phi):
    return 0.25*sqrt(5/pi) * (3*cos(phi)**2 - 1)
def y21_re(theta, phi):
    return -0.5*sqrt(15/(2*pi)) * sin(phi)*cos(phi) * cos(theta)
def y22_re(theta, phi):
    return 0.25*sqrt(15/(2*pi)) * sin(phi)**2 * cos(2*theta)

# Create 3 surfaces
spherical_surface(session, y20_re)

s1 = spherical_surface(session, y21_re)
from chimerax.geometry import translation
s1.position = translation((1,0,0))

s2 = spherical_surface(session, y22_re)
s2.position = translation((2,0,0))