Band theory orbital-based approach

The band theory is based on the fact that each orbital of the atom represents a single energy level, but when joined, lose their identity and together form electronic bands. Thus, for example, the corresponding energy levels S and p as function of the interatomic distance is almost constant, but as they approach, they lose their identities and form bands, as shown below [7]. 

In this section we show how the general form of Renner-Teller interaction matrices can be obtained at any order in the phonon variables and with electron orbital functions of different symmetry (p-like, < like, /-like, etc.). For this purpose, we use an intuitive approach [18] based on the Slater-Koster [19] technique and its generalization [20] to express crystal field or two-center integrals in terms of independent parameters in the tight-binding band theory [21] then we apply standard series developments in terms of normal coordinates. 

Development of theories regarding the sharing of electrons led to the concept of the covalent bond, a particularly appropriate one for dealing with the carbon-carbon bonds found in almost all organic compounds. Linus Pauling s quantum mechanical calculations based on the idea of resonance led to an approach that came to be known as the valence bond (VB) approach, whereas another approach based upon linear combination of atomic orbitals to form molecular orbitals led to the molecular orbital (MO) approach. The latter model is very helpfid in understanding the reasons why certain types of organic molecules are colored, and can even predict the intensities of absorption bands for simple molecules. 

It should be noted that a comprehensive ELNES study is possible only by comparing experimentally observed structures with those calculated [2.210-2.212]. This is an extra field of investigation and different procedures based on molecular orbital approaches [2.214—2.216], multiple-scattering theory [2.217, 2.218], or band structure calculations [2.219, 2.220] can be used to compute the densities of electronic states in the valence and conduction bands. 

This does not mean that the LCAO approach of the type we have used is incorrect or not useful. Recent applications of LCAO theory, based only upon electron orbitals that are occupied in the free atom, have been made to the study of simple metals (Smith and Gay, 1975), noble-metal surfaces (Gay, Smith, and Arlinghaus, 1977), and transition metals (Rath and Callaway, 1973). In fact, the LCAO approach seems a particularly effective way to obtain self-consistent calculations. The difficulty from the point of view taken in this book is that, as with many other band-calculational techniques, LCAO theory has not provided a means for the elementary calculations of properties emphasized here, but pseudo-potentials have. 

The electronic structure of solids and surfaces is usually described in terms of band structure. To this end, a unit cell containing a given number of atoms is periodically repeated in three dimensions to account for the infinite nature of the crystalline solid, and the Schrodinger equation is solved for the atoms in the unit cell subject to periodic boundary conditions [40]. This approach can also be extended to the study of adsorbates on surfaces or of bulk defects by means of the supercell approach in which an artificial periodic structure is created where the adsorbate is translationally reproduced in correspondence to a given superlattice of the host. This procedure allows the use of efficient computer programs designed for the treatment of periodic systems and has indeed been followed by several authors to study defects using either density functional theory (DFT) and plane waves approaches [41 3] or Hartree-Fock-based (HF) methods with localized atomic orbitals [44,45]. 

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