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Helium (2-electron atoms). The role of electron repulsion. Pauli principle and antisymmetry. Spin.

See also last year lecture at ../2011_09_01/


In the previous lecture we have set up the coordinate system and identified the Hamiltonian -> Schrödinger equation
     00-from-first-lecture.png

       00-from-first-lecture.png

Here we discuss the expression: positive potential energy means repulsion, negative means attraction.
(This is true for interactions which go to zero for large distance; cf harmonic oscillator - attraction, but
energy positive. The "go to zero for large distance" is important here.

Further we discussed the electron repulsion and sketched the independent electron approximation.
This means first ignore the repulsion -> product wavefunction (both in 1s);

      1-potentials-hamiltonian-helium-interactions.png

       1-potentials-hamiltonian-helium-interactions.png
We shall go through a hierarchy of approximations sketched above.
First we explore the independent electron approximation.
i.e. first ignore the repulsion -> product wavefunction (both in 1s);

Here we discussed the application; first the hydrogen-like states for Z=2, no repulsion;
Then repulsion is added (we shall later justify the result that repulsion adds 5/8 Z a.u.
We compared with experimental values - they are given by the two ionization potentials
(the 27.2/2  should be only 27.2, there is an error on the board!!)
The expectation value of the  repulsion is thus 34 eV.
This is a large improvement
from -108.8 eV to -74.8 eV - but this is still more than 4 eV above the experimental value
To remember First ionization potential of Helium is 24.60 eV
The second one can gues - that is 2 times 2 times 13.6 eV, ie. 54.4 eV

      2-simple-independent-electron-EXP-table.png

       2-simple-independent-electron-EXP-table.png

We looked at the parahelium and orthohelium spectra. The excited states must be mainly
- in the   independent electron approximation in  (1s) (nl) product states (one electron lowest, the other
excited to (nl), as 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 3d etc

But why are there two types, and why are the energies different?

      7-parahelium-orthohelium_pp05.png

       7-parahelium-orthohelium_pp05.png

   independent electron approximation in  (1s) (nl) product states (one electron lowest, the other
excited to (nl), as 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 3d etc
Independent, bot not quite, because when they are "identical", the probability must be the same
if the two "identical" particles are swapped, exchanged.
(the product - independent particles - is now gone! - but they are still "independent identical" - a new concept)

      3_symmetry_to_exclusion.png

       3_symmetry_to_exclusion.png
So there can be both fermions and bosons, antisymmetric and symmetric wavefunctions

From identical particles and symmetry back to EXCLUSION PRINCIPLE
there can not exist a wavefunction with two particles in the same state!
      4_symmetry_to_exclusion.png

       4_symmetry_to_exclusion.png


there can not exist a wavefunction with two particles in the same state!
But in the ground state we have (1s)(1s), as we repeated many times.
Both electrons are in the same state?? NO, their spatial behaviour is the same;
But something must be different: THE SPIN

Spin is not angular momentum! It is rather a magnetic moment.
But there is a connection between angular momentum and magnetic moment

We discussed spin properties; shortly

Then independent spin and space (Earth and Sun sometimes later, forgotten at the lecture)

Product wavefunctions; Symmetry and antisymmetry for space and spin INDEPENDENTLY
      5_Spin_not_angular_magnetic_symmetry.png

       5_Spin_not_angular_magnetic_symmetry.png


Product wavefunctions; Symmetry and antisymmetry for space and spin INDEPENDENTLY
(this is added from one of the previous years ...  - not at this lecture )
      6.-added-from-2011-or-so.png

       6.-added-from-2011-or-so.png

This is the final result of this analysis;
Product wavefunctions; Symmetry and antisymmetry for space and spin INDEPENDENTLY

This will be a starting point in explaining the parahelium/orthohelium "mystery"
      6_spin_and_space_independently_symmetrize.png

       6_spin_and_space_independently_symmetrize.png

Helium from java applet at NIST (possible JILA, Boulder, Colorado, or somewhere else in the US)
See also last year lecture at ../2011_09_01/
We can visit the Atomic spectra Database at 
http://physics.nist.gov/PhysRefData/ASD/lines_form.html
http://physics.nist.gov/cgi-bin/ASD/lines1.pl
To arrive there we visited
Atomic spectra database
http://www.nist.gov/pml/data/asd.cfm
NIST Home > PML > Physical Reference Data > Atomic Spectra Database



      8-He_I_Grotrian_java.png

       8-He_I_Grotrian_java.png


      9-He_I_zoom.png

       9-He_I_zoom.png


      NIST-Database.png

       NIST-Database.png




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