- #1
jaejoon89
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I'm trying to figure out what the Hamiltonian for a simple molecule is using the Born-Oppenheimer approximation.
1) My textbook gives the Hamiltonian for a simple system like H2 when you hold the internuclear distance constant. The only terms that drop out are the ones where you take the Laplacian for the atoms. Since the B-O approximation separates the wavefunction into nuclear and electronic components, I'm guessing this must be the electronic component.
2) But what does the nuclear Hamiltonian look like?
1) My textbook gives the Hamiltonian for a simple system like H2 when you hold the internuclear distance constant. The only terms that drop out are the ones where you take the Laplacian for the atoms. Since the B-O approximation separates the wavefunction into nuclear and electronic components, I'm guessing this must be the electronic component.
2) But what does the nuclear Hamiltonian look like?