Quantum virial theorem

The choice of the parameter A as a scale of length in the physical system leads to a different class of theorems, which are of particular significance for our present work. As shown by Fock, ° the uniform scaling of the system in all dimensions leads to the quantum virial theorem ... 

A different type of structural parameter was considered recently by the present authors, namely X representing a homogeneous macroscopic strain defined as the linear scaling of all particle positions as x- 1+e)x. The e is a constant 3x3 strain tensor, and e=0 corresponds to some reference configuration. The conjugate force is in this case defined as the macroscopic stress a, and an explicit general expression denoted the "stress theorem" is derived by Nielsen and Martin (1983). The result is a generalization of the quantum virial theorem (Born et al., 1926),... 

Lowdin, P.-O., Scaling problem, virial theorem and connected relations in quantum mechanics."... 

The relationship E = —T = V /2) an example of the quantum-mechanical virial theorem. 

Show explicitly for a hydrogen atom in the Is state that the total energy is equal to one-half the expectation value of the potential energy of interaction between the electron and the nucleus. This result is an example of the quantum-mechanical virial theorem. 

This equation may be used to derive the quantum mechanical virial theorem. For this purpose it is necessary to define the kinetic operator... 

There are other noteworthy single excited-state theories. Gorling developed a stationary principle for excited states in density functional theory [41]. A formalism based on the integral and differential virial theorems of quantum mechanics was proposed by Sahni and coworkers for excited state densities [42], The local scaling approach of Ludena and Kryachko has also been generalized to excited states [43]. 

The effect of pressure on the ground-state electronic and structural properties of atoms and molecules have been widely studied through quantum confinement models [53,69,70] whereby an atom (molecule) is enclosed within, e.g., a spherical cage of radius R with infinitely hard walls. In this class of models, the ground-state energy evolution as a function of confinement radius renders the pressure exerted by the electronic density on the wall as —dEldV. For atoms confined within hard walls, as in this case, pressure may also be obtained through the Virial theorem [69] ... 

There are several possible ways of introducing the Born-Oppenheimer model " and here the most descriptive way has been chosen. It is worth mentioning, however, that the justification for the validity of the Bom-Oppenheimer approximation, based on the smallness of the ratio of the electronic and nuclear masses used in its original formulation, has been found irrelevant. Actually, Essen started his analysis of the approximate separation of electronic and nuclear motions with the virial theorem for the Coulombic forces among all particles of molecules (nuclei and electrons) treated in the same quantum mechanical way. In general, quantum chemistry is dominated by the Bom-Oppenheimer model of the theoretical description of molecules. However, there is a vivid discussion in the literature which is devoted to problems characterized by, for example, Monkhorst s article of 1987, Chemical Physics without the Bom-Oppenheimer Approximation... ... 

P.O. Lowdin, Scaling Problem, Virial Theorem, and Connected Relations in Quantum Mechanics, J. Mol. Spectros. 3 (1959) 46. 

A prime example is the so-called quantum-mechanical virial theorem that appears in countless chemistry textbooks. The theorem is purported to state that the relationship between the expectation values of kinetic and potential energies... 

Whereas the quantum-mechanical molecular Hamiltonian is indeed spherically symmetrical, a simplified virial theorem should apply at the molecular level. However, when applied under the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, which assumes a rigid non-spherical nuclear framework, the virial theorem has no validity at all. No amount of correction factors can overcome this problem. All efforts to analyze the stability of classically structured molecules in terms of cleverly modified virial schemes are a waste of time. This stipulation embraces the bulk of modern bonding theories. 

The inherent valne of the topological method is that these atomic basins are defined by the electron density distribution of the molecule. No arbitrary assumptions are required. The atomic basins are quantum mechanically well-defined spaces, individnally satisfying the virial theorem. Properties of an atom defined by its atomic basin can be obtained by integration of the appropriate operator within the atomic basin. The molecular property is then simply the sum of the atomic properties. 

The full usefulness of the classification using V Pb must await the development of the quantum mechanical aspects of the theory. The Laplacian of the charge density appears in the local expression of the virial theorem and it is shown that its sign determines the relative importance of the local contributions of the potential and kinetic energies to the total energy of the system, A full discussion of this topic is given in Section 7.4. 

A theory is only justified by its ability to account for observed behaviour. It is important, therefore, to note that the theory of atoms in molecules is a result of observations made on the properties of the charge density. These observations give rise to the realization that a quantum mechanical description of the properties of the topological atom is not only possible but is also necessary, for the observations are explicable only if the virial theorem applies to an atom in a molecule. The original observations are among the most important of the properties exhibited by the atoms of theory (Bader and Beddall 1972). For this reason and for the purpose of emphasizing the observational basis of the theory, these original observations are now summarized. They provide an introduction to the consequences of a quantum mechanical description of an atom in a molecule. 

The non-vanishing of the flux of a quantum mechanical current in the absence of a magnetic field is what distinguishes the mechanics of a subsystem from that of the total system in a stationary state. The flux in the current density will vanish through any surface on which i// satisfies the natural boundary condition, Vi/ n = 0 (eqn (5.62)), a condition which is satisfied by a system with boundaries at infinity. Thus, for a total system the energy is stationary in the usual sense, 5 [i/ ] = 0, and the usual form of the hyper-virial theorem is obtained with the vanishing of the commutator average. 

It is to be emphasized that all of the above relationships, together with the atomic statements of the virial theorem (eqns (6.72) and (6.74)), remain true when Q refers to the total system. It is in this sense that an atom is a quantum subsystem. 

Electrostatic potential maps have been used to make predictions similar to these (Scrocco and Tomasi 1978). Such maps, however, do not in general reveal the location of the sites of nucleophilic attack (Politzer et al. 1982), as the maps are determined by only the classical part of the potential. The local virial theorem, eqn (7.4), determines the sign of the Laplacian of the charge density. The potential energy density -f (r) (eqn (6.30)) appearing in eqn (7.4) involves the full quantum potential. It contains the virial of the Ehrenfest force (eqn (6.29)), the force exerted on the electronic charge at a point in space (eqns (6.16) and (6.17)). The classical electrostatic force is one component of this total force. 

ACTION PRINCIPLE FOR A QUANTUM SUBSYSTEM 8.5 8.5.3 Atomic force and virial theorems in the presence of external fields... 

That this is indeed the differential form of the customary virial theorem is readily seen by multiplying Eq. (26) throughout by x and then integrating over all x from —oo to +00. Some elementary integrations by parts recovers the usual (integral) virial theorem of Clausius, in, of course, now fully quantum-mechanical form [54]. 

D. E. Magnoli, J. R. Murdoch. Obtaining self-consistent wave functions which satisfy the virial theorem. Int. J. Quantum Chem. 22, 1249-1262 (1982). 

---