Spin Hamiltonian electronic structure theory

In Section 14.1, we discussed perturbation theory in general terms, without specifying the zero-order Hamiltonian. The success of perturbation theory depends critically on our ability to provide a suitable zero-order operator. In electronic-structure theory, the most commcm zero-order Hamiltonian is the Fock operator, which in the canonical spin-orbital representation may be written in terms of orbital energies as... 

The EPR spectrum is a reflection of the electronic structure of the paramagnet. The latter may be complicated (especially in low-symmetry biological systems), and the precise relation between the two may be very difficult to establish. As an intermediate level of interpretation, the concept of the spin Hamiltonian was developed, which will be dealt with later in Part 2 on theory. For the time being it suffices to know that in this approach the EPR spectrum is described by means of a small number of parameters, the spin-Hamiltonian parameters, such as g-values, A-values, and )-values. This approach has the advantage that spectral data can be easily tabulated, while a demanding interpretation of the parameters in terms of the electronic structure can be deferred to a later date, for example, by the time we have developed a sufficiently adequate theory to describe electronic structure. In the meantime we can use the spin-Hamiltonian parameters for less demanding, but not necessarily less relevant applications, for example, spin counting. We can also try to establish... 

A difference between the qualitative VB theory, discussed in Chapter 3, and the spin-Hamiltonian VB theory is that the basic constituent of the latter theory is the AO-based determinant, without any a priori bias for a given electronic coupling into bond pairs like those used in the Rumer basis set of VB structures. The bond coupling results from the diagonalization of the Hamiltonian matrix in the space of the determinant basis set. The theory is restricted to determinants having one electron per AO. This restriction does not mean, however, that the ionic structures are neglected since their effect is effectively included in the parameters of the theory. Nevertheless, since ionicity is introduced only in an effective manner, the treatment does not yield electronic states that are ionic in nature, and excludes molecules bearing lone pairs. Another simplification is the zero-differential overlap approximation, between the AOs. 

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