Quantum mechanics Pauli exclusion principle

Because of the quantum mechanical Uncertainty Principle, quantum mechanics methods treat electrons as indistinguishable particles. This leads to the Pauli Exclusion Principle, which states that the many-electron wave function—which depends on the coordinates of all the electrons—must change sign whenever two electrons interchange positions. That is, the wave function must be antisymmetric with respect to pair-wise permutations of the electron coordinates. 

The observed structure of the spectra of many-electron atoms is entirely accounted for by the following postulate Only eigenfunctions which are antisymmetric in the electrons , that is, change sign when any two electrons are interchanged, correspond to existant states of the system. This is the quantum mechanics statement (26) of the Pauli exclusion principle (43). 

The application of the quantum mechanics to the interaction of more complicated atoms, and to the non-polar chemical bond in general, is now being made (45). A discussion of this work can not be given here it is, however, worthy of mention that qualitative conclusions have been drawn which are completely equivalent to G. N. Lewis s theory of the shared electron pair. The further results which have so far been obtained are promising and we may look forward with some confidence to the future explanation of chemical valence in general in terms of the Pauli exclusion principle and the Heisenberg-Dirac resonance phenomenon. 

Named for the Austrian physicist Wolfgang Pauli (1900-1958), this principle can be derived from the mathematics of quantum mechanics, but it cannot be rationalized in a simple way. Nevertheless, all experimental evidence upholds the idea. When one electron in an atom has a particular set of quantum numbers, no other electron in the atom is described by that same set. There are no exceptions to the Pauli exclusion principle. 

The next element is lithium, with three electrons. But the third electron does not go in the Is orbit. The reason it does not arises from one the most important rules in quantum mechanics. It was devised by Wolfgang Pauli (and would result in a Nobel Prize for the Austrian physicist). The rule Pauli came up with is called the Pauli exclusion principle it is what makes quantum numbers so crucial to our understanding of atoms. 

In this chapter we give a brief review of some of the basic concepts of quantum mechanics with emphasis on salient points of this theory relevant to the central theme of the book. We focus particularly on the electron density because it is the basis of the theory of atoms in molecules (AIM), which is discussed in Chapter 6. The Pauli exclusion principle is also given special attention in view of its role in the VSEPR and LCP models (Chapters 4 and 5). We first revisit the perhaps most characteristic feature of quantum mechanics, which differentiates it from classical mechanics its probabilistic character. For that purpose we go back to the origins of quantum mechanics, a theory that has its roots in attempts to explain the nature of light and its interactions with atoms and molecules. References to more complete and more advanced treatments of quantum mechanics are given at the end of the chapter. 

Quantum mechanics may be used to determine the arrangement of the electrons within an atom if two specific principles are applied the Pauli exclusion principle and the Aufbau principle. The Pauli exclusion principle states that no two electrons in a given atom can have the same set of the four quantum numbers. For example, if an electron has the following set of quantum numbers n = 1, l = 0, m = 0, and ms= +1/2, then no other electron may have the same set. The Pauli exclusion principle limits all orbitals to only two electrons. For example, the ls-orbital is filled when it has two electrons, so that any additional electrons must enter another orbital. 

Hence, above a certain density, stellar matter manifests quite different properties which can only be described by quantum mechanics. Electrons in the medium begin to oppose gravity in a big way through their exaggerated individualism. In fact, elementary particles with half-integral spin, such as electrons, neutrons and protons, all obey the Pauli exclusion principle. This stipulates that a system cannot contain two elements presenting exactly the same set of quantum characteristics. It follows that two electrons with parallel spins cannot have the same velocity. 

Here, the summation goes over all the individual electron wave functions that are occupied by electrons, so the term inside the summation is the probability that an electron in individual wave function ijx((r) is located at position r. The factor of 2 appears because electrons have spin and the Pauli exclusion principle states that each individual electron wave function can be occupied by two separate electrons provided they have different spins. This is a purely quantum mechanical effect that has no counterpart in classical physics. The point of this discussion is that the electron density, n r), which is a function of only three coordinates, contains a great amount of the information that is actually physically observable from the full wave function solution to the Schrodinger equation, which is a function of 3N coordinates. 

Before giving a brief discussion of wave-function-based methods, we must first describe the common ways in which the wave function is described. We mentioned earlier that the wave function of an /V-particle system is an tV-dimension al function. But what, exactly, is a wave function Because we want our wave functions to provide a quantum mechanical description of a system of N electrons, these wave functions must satisfy several mathematical properties exhibited by real electrons. For example, the Pauli exclusion principle prohibits two electrons with the same spin from existing at the same physical location simultaneously. We would, of course, like these properties to also exist in any approximate form of the wave function that we construct. 

Spin is a quantum mechanical property that does not appear in classical mechanics. An electron can have one of two distinct spins, spin up or spin down. The full specification of an electron s state must include both its location and its spin. The Pauli exclusion principle only applies to electrons with the same spin state. 

Short-range repulsive forces are a direct result of the Pauli exclusion principle and are thus quantum mechanical in nature. Kitaigorodskii (1961) has emphasized that such short-range repulsive forces play a major role in determining the packing in molecular crystals. The size and shape of molecules is determined by the repulsive forces, and the molecules pack as closely as is permitted by these forces. 

One of the pedagogically unfortunate aspects of quantum mechanics is the complexity that arises in the interaction of electron spin with the Pauli exclusion principle as soon as there are more than two electrons. In general, since the ESE does not even contain any spin operators, the total spin operator must commute with it, and, thus, the total spin of a system of any size is conserved at this level of approximation. The corresponding solution to the ESE must reflect this. In addition, the total electronic wave function must also be antisymmetric in the interchange of any pair of space-spin coordinates, and the interaction of these two requirements has a subtle influence on the energies that has no counterpart in classical systems. 

Finally, we will assume the Pauli exclusion principle. The simplest form of the exclusion principle is that no two electrons can occupy the same quantum state. This is a watered-down version, designed for people who may not understand linear algebra. A stronger statement of the Pauli exclusion principle is no more than n particles can occupy an n-dimensional subspace of the quantum mechanical state space. In other words, if (/)i, are wave func-... 

There is an implicit assumption contained in all of the above The two bonding electrons are of opposite spin. If two electrons are of parallel spin, no bonding occurs, but repulsion instead curve /, Fig. 5.1). This is a result of the Pauli exclusion principle. Because of the necessity for pairing in each bond formed, the valence bond theory is often referred to as the electron pair theory, and it forms a logical quantum-mechanical extension of Lewis s theory of electron pair formation. 

The Pauli Exclusion Principle states that no two electrons of any single atom may simultaneously occupy a slate described by only a single set of quantum numbers. Five such numbers arc needed to describe fully the quantum-mechanical conditions of an electron. For j-j coupling this set is generally ti. I., v. j. iij. and for l.-S it is /t. /. j. u(. nr,. From die coupling of the angular momentum associated with the latter sets a full description of the multielectron stale, described by it, L. S, J. Mis determined. 

Exotic atomic nuclei may be described as structures than do not occur in nature, but are produced in collisions. These nuclei have abundances of neurons and protons that are quite different from the natural nuclei. In 1949, M.G, Mayer (Argonne National Laboratory) and J.H.D. Jensen (University of Heidelberg) introduced a sphencal-shell model of die nucleus. The model, however, did not meet the requirements and restrains imposed by quantum mechanics and the Pauli exclusion principle, Hamilton (Vanderbilt University) and Maruhn (University of Frankfurt) reported on additional research of exotic atomic nuclei in a paper published in mid-1986 (see reference listedi. In addition to the aforementioned spherical model, there are several other fundamental shapes, including other geometric shapes with three mutually peipendicular axes—prolate spheroid (football shape), oblate spheroid (discus shape), and triaxial nucleus (all axes unequal). 

PAULI, WOLFCANC ERNST (1900-1958). Pauli was an Austrian theorerical physicist, After WWT1. he became an American citizen. When just 20 years of age he wrote The Theory of Relativity." Later he wrote articles on Quantum Theoiy and Principles of Wave Mechanics." He is most remembered for formulating the Pauli exclusion principle- . This principle says that two electrons in an atom can never exist in the same state, This is important concept for modern physics. Pauli was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1945 for this discovery. 

See also Pauli Exclusion Principle and Quantum Mechanics. 

Nonrelativistic quantum mechanics, extended by the theory of electron spin and by the Pauli exclusion principle, provides a reliable theory for the computation of atomic spectral frequencies and intensities, of cross sections for scattering or capture of electrons by atomic systems, of chemical bonds and many properties of solids, including magnetic properties, although with much more complicated systems it has not always proved possible to develop with adequate accuracy the consequences of the theory. Quantum mechanics has also had a limited success in nuclear theory although m this field it is possible that a more fundamental system of mechanics is required. 

The development of quantum theory, particularly of quantum mechanics, forced certain changes in statistical mechanics. In the development of the resulting quantum statistics, the phase space is divided into cells of volume hf. where h is the Planck constant and / is the number of degrees of freedom. In considering the permutations of the molecules, it is recognized that the interchange of two identical particles does not lead to a new state. With these two new ideas, one arrives at the Bose-Einstein statistics. These statistics must be further modified for particles, such as electrons, to which the Pauli exclusion principle applies, and the Fermi-Dirac statistics follow. 

By exhibiting clearly the basic fact that electrons are wave-like fermions (de Broglie particles that obey the Pauli Exclusion Principle), the LMO-electride ion model of electronic structure enables one to utilize systematically many features of classical physics in developing an understanding , or "explanation , of the properties of quantum mechanical systems. 

The Pauli exclusion principle is a simplified exposition, intended for chemists with no understanding of quantum mechanics, and applied to a particular system, the many-electron atom. Like all simplified explanations it should not be taken too literally. 

The Hiickel molecular orbital (HMO) model of pi electrons goes back to the early days of quantum mechanics [7], and is a standard tool of the organic chemist for predicting orbital symmetries and degeneracies, chemical reactivity, and rough energetics. It represents the ultimate uncorrelated picture of electrons in that electron-electron repulsion is not explicitly included at all, not even in an average way as in the Hartree Fock self consistent field method. As a result, each electron moves independently in a fully delocalized molecular orbital, subject only to the Pauli Exclusion Principle limitation to one electron of each spin in each molecular orbital. 

Physical chemistry of the positron and Ps is unique in itself, since the positron possesses its own quantum mechanics, thermodynamics and kinetics. The positron can be treated by the quantum theory of the electron with two important modifications the sign of the Coulomb force and absence of the Pauli exclusion principle with electrons in many electron systems. The positron can form a bound state or scatter when it interacts with electrons or with molecules. The positron wave function can be calculated more accurately than the electron wave function by taking advantage of simplified, no-exchange interaction with electrons. However, positron wave functions in molecular and atomic systems have not been documented in the literature as electrons have. Most researchers perform calculations at certain levels of approximation for specific purposes. Once the positron wave function is calculated, experimental annihilation parameters can be obtained by incorporating the known electron wave functions. This will be discussed in Chapter 2. 

Electrons are found only in certain allowed regions of space the particular locus in which some electron can move is referred to as its orbital. In the 1920s Pauli noted that, when an electron is in a given atomic orbital, a second electron having its spin in the same direction is excluded from that orbital. This led to the enunciation of the Pauli exclusion principle of quantum mechanics When two electrons are in the same orbital, their spins must be in opposite directions. When a molecule has all of its electrons paired in orbitals with their spins in opposite directions, the total spin of the molecule is zero (5 = 0), and the molecule is in a singlet state (25 + 1 = 1 Fig. 4-7a). 

Electrons interchanged. When the many-electron function of a molecule is written in the form of a determinant, the fundamental antisymmetry principle (the Pauli exclusion principle) of quantum mechanics is satisfied. According to that principle an A-electron function must be antisymmetric, i.e. it must change sign whenever spatial and spin variables of any two electrons are interchanged ... 

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