Quantum theory orbitals

ZINDO/1 IS based on a modified version of the in termediate neglect of differen tial overlap (IXDO), which was developed by Michael Zerner of the Quantum Theory Project at the University of Florida. Zerner s original INDO/1 used the Slater orbital exponents with a distance dependence for the first row transition metals only. Ilow ever. in HyperChein constant orbital expon en ts are used for all the available elein en ts, as recommended by Anderson. Friwards, and Zerner. Inorg. Chem. 2H, 2728-2732.iyH6. 

The supporters of this view appear to be fighting a losing battle if one considers the pervasiveness of the current orbitals paradigm in chemistry (2). Atomic and molecular orbitals are freely used at all levels of chemistry in an attempt to explain chemical structure, bonding, and reactivity. This is a very unfortunate situation since the concept of orbitals cannot be strictly maintained in the light of quantum theory from which it supposedly derives. 

Figure 5. Niels Bohr came up with the idea that the energy of orbiting electrons would be in discrete amounts, or quanta. This enabled him to successfully describe the hydrogen atom, with its single electron, In developing the remainder of his first table of electron configurations, however, Bohr clearly relied on chemical properties, rather than quantum theory, to assign electrons to shells. In this segment of his configuration table, one can see that Bohr adjusted the number of electrons in nitrogen s inner shell in order to make the outer shell, or the reactive shell, reflect the element s known trivalency.

This is a crudal and frequently overlooked point about electronic configurations. They are far from being based in quantum mechanics it is precisely this theory that shows them to be an inadequate concept The notion that electron orbits and configurations really exist or "refer" is a relic of the old quantum theory and of Pauli s introduction of the exclusion prind-ple in its original and now strictly incorrect... 

It is clear that the density matrix formalism renders a considerable simplification of the basis for the quantum theory of many-particle systems. It emphasizes points of essential physical and chemical interests, and it avoids more artificial or conventional ideas, as for instance different types of basic orbitals. The question is, however, whether this formalism can be separated from the wave function idea itself as a fundament. Research on this point is in progress, and one can expect some interesting results within the next few years. 

Lowdin, P.-O., Phys. Rev. 97, 1474, 1490, 1509, Quantum theory of many-particle systems. I. Physical interpretations by means of density matrices, natural spin-orbitals and convergence problems in the method of configuration interaction. II. Study of the ordinary Hartree-Fock approximation. III. Extension of the Har-tree-Fock scheme to include degenerate systems and correlation effects. ... 

Lowdin, P.-O., and Shull, H., Phys. Rev. 101, 1730, Natural orbitals in the quantum theory of two-electron systems/ ... 

According to the old quantum theory, the orbit of an electron moving in such a field consists of a number of elliptical segments. Each segment can be characterized by a segmentary quantum number n, in addition to the azimuthal quantum number Ic, which is the same for all segments. In all cases it is found that about half of the entire orbit lies in the outermost (j.th) region. 

Dewar, M. J. S., The Molecular Orbital Theory of Organic Chemistry, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1969 R. G. Pan, The Quantum Theory of Molecular Electronic Structure, Benjamin, New York, 1963. 

We have described the layout of the periodic table in terms of the orbital descriptions of the various elements. As our Box describes, the periodic table was first proposed well before quantum theory was developed, when the only guidelines available were patterns of chemical and physical behavior. 

In this paper a method [11], which allows for an a priori BSSE removal at the SCF level, is for the first time applied to interaction densities studies. This computational protocol which has been called SCF-MI (Self-Consistent Field for Molecular Interactions) to highlight its relationship to the standard Roothaan equations and its special usefulness in the evaluation of molecular interactions, has recently been successfully used [11-13] for evaluating Eint in a number of intermolecular complexes. Comparison of standard SCF interaction densities with those obtained from the SCF-MI approach should shed light on the effects of BSSE removal. Such effects may then be compared with those deriving from the introduction of Coulomb correlation corrections. To this aim, we adopt a variational perturbative valence bond (VB) approach that uses orbitals derived from the SCF-MI step and thus maintains a BSSE-free picture. Finally, no bias should be introduced in our study by the particular approach chosen to analyze the observed charge density rearrangements. Therefore, not a model but a theory which is firmly rooted in Quantum Mechanics, applied directly to the electron density p and giving quantitative answers, is to be adopted. Bader s Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules (QTAM) [14, 15] meets nicely all these requirements. Such a theory has also been recently applied to molecular crystals as a valid tool to rationalize and quantitatively detect crystal field effects on the molecular densities [16-18]. 

Particularly spectra and quantum theory seemed to indicate an order. A planetary model almost suggested itself, but according to classical physics, the moving electrons should emit energy and consequently collapse into the nucleus. The 28-year-old Niels Bohr ignored this principle and postulated that the electrons in these orbits were "out of law". This clearly meant that classical physics could not describe or explain the properties of the atoms. The framework of physical theory came crashing down. Fundamentally new models had to be developed.1... 

Figure 3.7 (a) Plot of the angular function (0) = constant for an s orbital in plane through the z axis, (b) Plot of (00) = constant (cos 8) for a p orbital in a plane through the z axis, (c) Three-dimensional plots of the angular function (00) for the s and p orbitals. (Adapted with permission from P. A. Cox, Introduction to Quantum Theory and Atomic Structure, 1996, Oxford University Press, Oxford, Figure 4.4.)... 

The first application of quantum theory to a problem in chemistry was to account for the emission spectrum of hydrogen and at the same time explain the stability of the nuclear atom, which seemed to require accelerated electrons in orbital motion. This planetary model is rendered unstable by continuous radiation of energy. The Bohr postulate that electronic angular momentum should be quantized in order to stabilize unique orbits solved both problems in principle. The Bohr condition requires that... 

Despite the complication due to the interdependence of orbital and spin angular momenta, the Dirac equation for a central field can be separated in spherical polar coordinates [63]. The energy eigenvalues for the hydrogen atom (V(r) = e2/r, in electrostatic units), are equivalent to the relativistic terms of the old quantum theory [64]... 

As was mentioned previously, simple orbital products (electron configurations) must be converted into antisymmetrized orbital products (Slater determinants) in order to satisfy the Pauli principle. Thus, proper many-electron wavefunctions satisfy constraints of exchange antisymmetry that have no counterpart in pre-quantum theories. 

In the early years of quantum theory, Hiickel developed a remarkably simple form of MO theory that retains great influence on the concepts of organic chemistry to this day. The Hiickel molecular orbital (HMO) picture for a planar conjugated pi network is based on the assumption of a minimal basis of orthonormal p-type AOs pr and an effective pi-Hamiltonian h(ctT) with matrix elements... 

---