Open AccessResults of calculations of atomic wave functions. I.—Survey, and self-consistent fields for Cl - and Cu +
Author(s) -
D. R. Hartree
Publication year - 1933
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.1933.0118
Subject(s) - electron , wave function , atomic physics , atom (system on chip) , field (mathematics) , schrödinger equation , physics , atomic nucleus , effective nuclear charge , charge (physics) , quantum mechanics , mathematics , computer science , pure mathematics , embedded system
An approximation to the structure of a many-electron atom can be obtained by considering each electron to be a stationary state in the field of the nucleus and the Schrodinger charge distribution of the other electrons, and rather more than five years ago I gave a method of working out atomic structures based on this idea, and called the field of the nucleus and distribution of charge so obtained the “self-consistent field.” The method of working out the self-consistent field for any particular atom involves essentially (a ) the estimation of the contributions to the field from the various electron groups constituting the atom in question; (b ) the solution of the radial wave equation for an electron in the field of the nucleus and other electrons, this solution being carried out for each of the wave functions supposed occupied by electrons in the atomic state considered; and (c ) the calculation of the contribution to the field from the Schrodinger charge distribution of an electron group with each radial wave function. The estimates of the contributions to the field have to be adjusted by trial until the agreement between the contributions finally calculated and those estimated is considered satisfactory.