The vibrational dynamics of HOCl and HOBr between bending and OCl/OBr stretching coordinates with anharmonicity and Fermi coupling is studied with the classical dynamical potential approach. The quantal vibrational dynamics is mostly mapped out by the classical nonlinear variables such as fixed points, except for the state energies, which are quantized. This approach is global in the sense that the focus is on a set of levels instead of individual ones. The dynamics of HOBr is demonstrated to be less complicated. The localized modes along the OCl/OBr stretching coordinates are also shown to have O-Br bonds more prone to dissociation.
