- #1
ian2012
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I hope someone can help me out here.
I am having difficulty understanding what the difference is between the spin orbit interaction and LS coupling scheme in atoms. I know the spin orbit interaction (or spin orbit coupling) is due to the interaction of say an electron's spin with it's orbital motion. But i am confused about the LS coupling, apparently the neglect of the spin-orbit interaction means the LS coupling approximation holds?
(My confusion starts with understanding the residual electrostatic interaction. Apparently when you have a two valence electron atom, the central field approximation cannot completely account for the repulsion between them. So for example, in silicon the ground configuration is: (1s2)(2s2)(2p6)(3s2)(3p2), however in an excited configuration: 3p4p, and due to LS coupling, you get 36 states, 6 terms... I can't picture what is going on?)
I am having difficulty understanding what the difference is between the spin orbit interaction and LS coupling scheme in atoms. I know the spin orbit interaction (or spin orbit coupling) is due to the interaction of say an electron's spin with it's orbital motion. But i am confused about the LS coupling, apparently the neglect of the spin-orbit interaction means the LS coupling approximation holds?
(My confusion starts with understanding the residual electrostatic interaction. Apparently when you have a two valence electron atom, the central field approximation cannot completely account for the repulsion between them. So for example, in silicon the ground configuration is: (1s2)(2s2)(2p6)(3s2)(3p2), however in an excited configuration: 3p4p, and due to LS coupling, you get 36 states, 6 terms... I can't picture what is going on?)
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