Dr.

Ayan Mukherjee
Department of Physics, Ram Ratan Singh College, Mokama, Patna
Patliputra University, Patna

e-Content for B.Sc Student (Physics Hons)

Atomic Physics

 1 Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table

 2 Total Angular Momentum
 3 Zeeman Effect
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Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table
 What would happen if there are more than one electron?
a nucleus with charge +2e attracting two electrons.
the two electrons repelling one another.

 Can not solve problems exactly with the Schrödinger equation

because of the complex potential interactions.

 Can understand experimental results without computing the wave

functions of many-electron atoms by applying the boundary
conditions and selection rules.

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Pauli Exclusion Principle
 To understand atomic spectroscopic data for optical
frequencies, Pauli proposed an exclusion principle:

No two electrons in an atom may have the same set of

quantum numbers (n, ℓ, mℓ, ms).

 It applies to all particles of half-integer spin, which are called

fermions, and particles in the nucleus are fermions.

The periodic table can be understood by two rules:

1) The electrons in an atom tend to occupy the lowest energy levels
available to them.
2) Pauli exclusion principle.

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Atomic Structure

Electrons for H and He atoms are in

the K shell.
H: 1s2
He: 1s1 or 1s

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Atomic Structure
How many electrons may be in each subshell?
Total
For each mℓ: two values of ms 2
For each ℓ: (2ℓ + 1) values of mℓ 2(2ℓ + 1)

Recall: ℓ = 0 1 2 3 4 5 …
letter = s p d f g h …
ℓ = 0, (s state) can have two electrons.
ℓ = 1, (p state) can have six electrons, and so on.

The lower ℓ values have more elliptical orbits than the

higher ℓ values.
Electrons with higher ℓ values are more shielded
from the nuclear charge.
Electrons lie higher in energy than those with lower ℓ
values.
4s fills before 3d. 5
The Periodic Table

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Groups and Periods
Groups:
 Vertical columns.

 Same number of electrons in an ℓ orbit.

 Can form similar chemical bonds.

Periods:
 Horizontal rows.

 Correspond to filling of the subshells.

 Some properties of elements are compared by the ionization energies of

elements and atomic radii.

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The Periodic Table
Inert Gases:
 Last group of the periodic table

 Closed p subshell except helium

 Zero net spin and large ionization energy

 Their atoms interact weakly with each other

Alkalis:
 Single s electron outside an inner core

 Easily form positive ions with a charge +1e

 Lowest ionization energies

 Electrical conductivity is relatively good

Alkaline Earths:
 Two s electrons in outer subshell

 Largest atomic radii

 High electrical conductivity

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The Periodic Table
Halogens:
 Need one more electron to fill outermost subshell

 Form strong ionic bonds with the alkalis

 More stable configurations occur as the p subshell is filled

Transition Metals:
 Three rows of elements in which the 3d, 4d, and 5d are being filled

 Properties primarily determined by the s electrons, rather than by

the d subshell being filled

 Have d-shell electrons with unpaired spins

 As the d subshell is filled, the magnetic moments, and the tendency

for neighboring atoms to align spins are reduced

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The Periodic Table
Lanthanides (rare earths):
 Have the outside 6s2 subshell completed

 As occurs in the 3d subshell, the electrons in the 4f subshell have

unpaired electrons that align themselves

 The large orbital angular momentum contributes to the large

ferromagnetic effects

Actinides:
 Inner subshells are being filled while the 7s2 subshell is complete

 Difficult to obtain chemical data because they are all radioactive

 Have longer half-lives

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Total Angular Momentum

Orbital angular momentum Spin angular momentum

Total angular momentum

L, Lz, S, SzJ and Jz are quantized.

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Total Angular Momentum
 If j and mj are quantum numbers for the single electron
(hydrogen atom).

 Quantization of the magnitudes.

 The total angular momentum quantum number for the single

electron can only have the values

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Spin-Orbit Coupling
 An effect of the spins of the electron and the orbital angular
momentum interaction is called spin-orbit coupling.

• The dipole potential energy .

• The spin magnetic moment µ .
• .

 is the magnetic field due to the proton.

where cos a is the angle between .

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Total Angular Momentum
No external magnetic field:
 Only J can be known because the uncertainty principle forbids J
z x
or Jy from being known at the same time as Jz.

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Total Angular Momentum
With an internal magnetic field:
 will precess about .

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Total Angular Momentum
 Now the selection rules for a single-electron atom become
 Δn = anything Δℓ = ±1
 Δmj = 0, ±1 Δj = 0, ±1
 Hydrogen energy-level diagram for n = 2 and n = 3 with the spin-
orbit splitting.

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Many-Electron Atoms
Hund’s rules:
1) The total spin angular momentum S should be maximized to the
extent possible without violating the Pauli exclusion principle.
2) Insofar as rule 1 is not violated, L should also be maximized.
3) For atoms having subshells less than half full, J should be
minimized.

 For labeled two-electron atom

 There are LS coupling and jj coupling to combine four angular

momenta J.

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LS Coupling
 This is used for most atoms when the magnetic field is weak.

 If two electrons are single subshell, S = 0 or 1 depending on

whether the spins are antiparallel or parallel.

 For given L, there are 2S + 1 values of J.

 For L > S, J goes from L − S to L + S.
 For L < S, there are fewer than 2S + 1 possible J values.
 The value of 2S + 1 is the multiplicity of the state.

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LS Coupling
 The notation for a single-electron atom becomes
n2S+1 LJ
 The letters and numbers are called spectroscopic symbols.
 There are singlet states (S = 0) and triplet states (S = 1) for two
electrons.

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LS Coupling
 There are separated energy
levels according to whether
they are S = 0 or 1.

 Allowed transitions must

have ΔS = 0.

 No allowed (forbidden)
transitions are possible
between singlet and triplet
states with much lower
probability.

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LS Coupling
 The allowed transitions for the LS coupling scheme are
 ΔL = ±1 ΔS = 0
 ΔJ = 0, ±1 (J = 0 → J = 0 is forbidden)

 A magnesium atom excited to the 3s3p triplet state has no lower

triplet state to which it can decay.
 It is called metastable, because it lives for such a long time on
the atomic scale.

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jj Coupling
 It is for the heavier elements, where the nuclear charge causes the
spin-orbit interactions to be as strong as the force between the
individual and .

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Anomalous Zeeman Effect
 More than three closely spaced optical lines were observed.

 The interaction that splits the energy levels in an external magnetic

field is caused by interaction.
Orbital contribution
 The magnetic moment depends on and
Spin magnetic moment

 The 2J + 1 degeneracy for a given total angular momentum state J is

removed by the effect of the .
 If the is small compared to internal magnetic field, then and
precess about while precesses slowly about .

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Anomalous Zeeman Effect
 The total magnetic moment is

μB is the Bohr magneton and

it is called the Landé g factor.

 The magnetic total angular momentum numbers mJ from −J to J in integral
steps.
 splits each state J into 2J + 1 equally spaced levels separated ΔE = V.
 For photon transitions between energy levels
ΔmJ = ±1, 0 but is forbidden when ΔJ = 0.

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Application of Zeeman Effect:

1. Zeeman effect is used to produce magnetograms showing the

variation of magnetic field on the sun.

2. A theory about the magnetic sense of Birds assumes that a

protein in the retina is changed due to Zeeman effect.

3. In Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Magnetic

Resonance Imaging(MRI), Mossbauer spectroscopy.

4. Measurement of pulsed magnetic field.

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