Why does the Hartree product not reflect fermion antisymmetry?

  • Level: Graduate 
  • Thread starter Thread starter cotyledon
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Method
Join the discussion
Registration is free. Start your own thread to ask a follow-up.
1 reply · 3K views
cotyledon
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
How does the Hartree product not reflect the antisymmertic nature of Fermions? Why do you take a product rather than a linear combination of the basis functions to get the total wave function (a la LCAO method, i.e. Linear Combination of Atomic Orbitals)?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
cotyledon said:
How does the Hartree product not reflect the antisymmertic nature of Fermions?

This is answered in every textbook on the topic. It's also completely obvious if you know what the antisymmetry requirement is.

Why do you take a product rather than a linear combination of the basis functions to get the total wave function (a la LCAO method, i.e. Linear Combination of Atomic Orbitals)?

What makes you think that the linear combination doesn't include products?