Open AccessNon-adiabatic crossing of energy levels
Publication year - 1932
Publication title -
proceedings of the royal society of london. series a, containing papers of a mathematical and physical character
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2053-9150
pISSN - 0950-1207
DOI - 10.1098/rspa.1932.0165
Subject(s) - homopolar motor , eigenfunction , adiabatic process , polar , polar coordinate system , physics , atomic physics , energy (signal processing) , avoided crossing , quantum mechanics , mathematics , excited state , geometry , eigenvalues and eigenvectors , magnet
The crossing of energy levels has been a matter of considerable discussion. The essential features may be illustrated in the crossing of a polar and homopolar state of a molecule. Let ψ1 (x /R), ψ2 (x /R) be two electronic eigenfunctions of a molecule with stationary nuclei. Let these eigenfunctions have the property that for R≫R0 , ψ1 has polar characteristics, ψ2 homopolar; while at R≪R0 , ψ2 has polar characteristics, ψ1 homopolar. In the region R=R0 these two eigenfunctions may be said to exchange their characteristics.