Is this transition allowed or forbidden?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the selection rules for electric dipole transitions in multi-electron systems, specifically analyzing a transition for helium from the state 1s1p 1P1 to 1s2 1S1. Participants are tasked with determining if this transition is allowed or forbidden based on the relevant selection rules and parity considerations.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking, Mixed

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore the implications of the selection rules, including changes in angular momentum (ΔL), total angular momentum (ΔJ), and spin (ΔS). There is a focus on the parity of the states involved and whether the initial state 1p is valid. Questions are raised about how to calculate parity for multi-electron configurations and whether the transition is physically plausible.

Discussion Status

There is an ongoing examination of the transition's validity, with some participants suggesting that the initial state may be a typo and should instead refer to 1s2p. The discussion includes clarifications about how to compute parity for individual electrons versus total configurations, indicating a productive exploration of the topic without reaching a consensus.

Contextual Notes

Participants note potential confusion regarding the existence of the 1p state and the implications of parity calculations in multi-electron systems. There is acknowledgment of the restrictions on quantum numbers in atomic physics, which may affect the interpretation of the problem statement.

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Homework Statement


Under the multi-electron electric dipole (E1) selections rules, state whether this transition is allowed or forbidden and state which selection rule(s) has been violated.
for He: 1s1p 1P1-> 1s2 1S1

Homework Equations


For E1:
\begin{eqnarray*} Parity \ changes: (-1)^l\\
\Delta L = 0, \pm 1 (0\rightarrow{}0 \ not \ allowed)\\
\Delta J = 0, \pm 1 (0\rightarrow{}0 \ not \ allowed)\\
\Delta S = 0\end{eqnarray*}

The Attempt at a Solution


The initial state has: L=1, 2S+1=1 so S=0, J=1
Final state has: L=0, 2S+1=1 so S=0, J=0

so in theory this is allowed because ΔL=-1, ΔS=0 and ΔJ=-1, but I'm not sure how to implement the parity condition? Is it that because the electron is initially in 1p, l=1 and then ends in 1s^2 so l=0 so this transition is odd and parity is fine?
I have a feeling this is physically impossible because I don't think 1p exists? I'm quite lost here so any help would be great!
 
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The parity of the state is ##(-1)^L##, i.e. negative for the initial state and positive for the final state.
You can also this in terms of the individual electron configurations
For the initial state: ##(-1)^0\times (-1)^1=-1##, in a similar way you should be able to get that the final state has positive parity.
I don't see why the 1p state cannot exist? What is your arguments for this?
 
eys_physics said:
The parity of the state is ##(-1)^L##, i.e. negative for the initial state and positive for the final state.
You can also this in terms of the individual electron configurations
For the initial state: ##(-1)^0\times (-1)^1=-1##, in a similar way you should be able to get that the final state has positive parity.
I don't see why the 1p state cannot exist? What is your arguments for this?
1p would imply a p-state for n = 1, which doesn't exist. I think there must have been a misprint in the original statement of the problem. Maybe the configuration for the initial state was meant to be 1s2p.
 
Do you do (-1)^l for each electron in the shell? or just the l for that shell, so for example if you had:
1s2 2s2 2p 3s
would the parity calculation be: (-1)0(-1)0(-1)1(-1)0 = -1

or is it per electron?

And as for the 1s1p, I think it must be a typo.

Thanks for your replies!
 
Yes, probably it should be 2p. First I was not aware of the restrictions on the n quantum since I am not an expert in atomic physics.

Yes, you are correct regarding the parity. Total parity of a state is the product of the parities of the individual states.
This is easy to understand from the definition of parity. If the parity is -1 you have $$\phi(-\mathbf{r})=-\phi(-\mathbf{r})$$ and if parity is 1, $$\phi(\mathbf{r})=\phi(-\mathbf{r})$$ for the wave function.
 

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