Abstract The relativistic effects have been widely reported to affect the chemical and physical properties of the heavy elements such as lanthanides (), actinides (), and transactinides (). This effect is definitely weakened by reducing the atomic number in lighter elements such as hydrogen‐like atoms (HLAs). The aim of present paper is to investigate the relativistic effects of electron motion in Bohr orbits on the chemical and physical properties of HLAs. The theoretical model is based on the Heisenberg (rather than Schrodinger) picture where the relativistic vibrational Hamiltonian (RVH) is expanded as a power series of harmonic oscillator Hamiltonian for the first time. By applying the first‐order RVH (correct to ) to the Heisenberg equation, a pair of coupled equations is obtained for the relativistic position and linear momentum of electron. A simple comparison of the first‐order relativistic and nonrelativistic equations reveals that the relativistic natural frequency of an HLA (like entropy) is slowly raised by increasing beyond . In general, RVH plays a fundamental role because it specifies the temporal relativistic variations of position, velocity, and linear momentum of the oscillating electron. The results are finally verified by demonstrating energy conservation.
Abstract The relativistic effects have been widely reported to affect the chemical and physical properties of the heavy elements such as lanthanides (), actinides (), and transactinides (). This effect is definitely weakened by reducing the atomic number in lighter elements such as hydrogen‐like atoms (HLAs). The aim of present paper is to investigate the relativistic effects of electron motion in Bohr orbits on the chemical and physical properties of HLAs. The theoretical model is based on the Heisenberg (rather than Schrodinger) picture where the relativistic vibrational Hamiltonian (RVH) is expanded as a power series of harmonic oscillator Hamiltonian for the first time. By applying the first‐order RVH (correct to ) to the Heisenberg equation, a pair of coupled equations is obtained for the relativistic position and linear momentum of electron. A simple comparison of the first‐order relativistic and nonrelativistic equations reveals that the relativistic natural frequency of an HLA (like entropy) is slowly raised by increasing beyond . In general, RVH plays a fundamental role because it specifies the temporal relativistic variations of position, velocity, and linear momentum of the oscillating electron. The results are finally verified by demonstrating energy conservation.
The relativistic properties of Hydrogen-like atoms (HLAs) are here investigated in the Heisenberg picture for the first time. The relativistic vibrational Hamiltonian (RVH) is first defined as a power series of harmonic oscillator Hamiltonian by using the relativistic energy eigenvalue . By applying the first-order RVH (proportional to ) to the Heisenberg equation, a pair of coupled equations is turned out for the relativistic motion of the electron’s position and linear momentum. A simple comparison of the first-order relativistic and nonrelativistic equations reveals this reality that the natural (fundamental) frequency of HLA (like entropy) is slowly raised by increasing the atomic number from . The second-order RVH (proportional to ) has then been implemented to determine an exact expression for the electron relativistic frequency in the different atomic energy levels. In general, the physical role of RVH is fundamental because it not only specifies the temporal relativistic variations of position, velocity, and linear momentum of the oscillating electron, but also identifies the corresponding relativistic potential, kinetic, and mechanical energies. The results will finally be testified by demonstrating energy conservation.
The relativistic behavior of Hydrogen-like atoms (HLAs) is investigated in Heisenberg picture for the first time. The relativistic vibrational Hamiltonian (RVH) is first defined as a power series of harmonic oscillator Hamiltonian by using the relativistic energy eigenvalue . By applying the first-order RVH (proportional to ) to Heisenberg equation, a pair of coupled equations is turned out for the motion of electron position and its relativistic linear momentum. A simple comparison of the first-order relativistic and nonrelativistic equations reveals this reality that the natural (fundamental) frequency of electron oscillation (like entropy) is slowly raised by increasing the atomic number. The second-order RVH (proportional to ) have then been implemented to determine an exact expression for the electron relativistic frequency in the different atomic energy levels. In general, the physical role of RVH is fundamental because it not only specifies the temporal relativistic variations of position, velocity, and linear momentum of oscillating electron, but also identifies the corresponding relativistic potential, kinetic, and mechanical energies. The results will finally be testified by demonstrating the energy conservation.
Niels Bohr’s model of the hydrogen and hydrogen-like atoms, in which the electron is allowed to revolve in certain circular orbits around the nucleus, was extended by Arnold Sommerfeld to allow for the possibility of elliptical orbits. Each elliptical orbit was constrained by two quantization conditions specified by a positive integer nφ and a non-negative integer nr. If, in the presence of the attractive Coulomb force between the electron and the nucleus, the dynamics of the atom were taken to be governed by the Newtonian laws of motion, the energy Ɛ of the two-particle system was found to be a function of the positive integer n = nr + nφ. The atomic energy levels thus exhibited an n-fold degeneracy, which would be lifted in the presence of external electric or magnetic fields, thus accounting for the fine-structure of the spectral lines emitted by the atom—phenomena observed, respectively, in the Stark effect and the Zeeman effect. Sommerfeld also examined the behavior of his elliptical orbits by allowing the revolving electron to obey Einstein’s relativistic dynamics. In this case, the energy-level degeneracies were lifted (even in the absence of external perturbations), and the elliptical orbits were found to precess around the nucleus—similarly to the precession of, say, the orbit of the planet Mercury around the Sun. What is astonishing about Sommerfeld’s relativistic expression of the energy Ɛ as a function of nφ and nr is that it is precisely the same expression as obtained for hydrogen and hydrogen-like atoms from Dirac’s equation, which came more than a decade later. Recall that the spin of the electron was not yet discovered when Sommerfeld developed his model, and that in Dirac’s fully-relativistic quantum mechanics, the spectral fine-structure arises from the coupling of the electron’s spin to its orbital motion. The present paper provides a streamlined yet detailed account of Sommerfeld’s elliptical orbits in hopes of bringing about a deeper appreciation for the miraculous coincidence of Sommerfeld’s result with that derived from Dirac’s equation.
The initial purpose is to add two physical origins for the outstandingly clear mathematical description that Dirac has left in his Principles of Quantum Mechanics. The first is the “internal motion” in the wave function of the electron that is now expressed through dispersion dynamics; the second is the physical origin for mathematical quantization. Bohr’s model for the hydrogen atom was “the greatest single step in the development of the theory of atomic structure.” It leads to the Schrodinger equation which is non-relativistic, but which conveniently equates together momentum and electrostatic potential in a representation containing mixed powers. Firstly, we show how the equation is expansible to approximate relativistic form by applying solutions for the dilation of time in special relativity, and for the contraction of space. The adaptation is to invariant “harmonic events” that are digitally quantized. Secondly, the internal motion of the electron is described by a stable wave packet that implies wave-particle duality. The duality includes uncertainty that is precisely described with some variance from Heisenberg’s axiomatic limit. Harmonic orbital wave functions are self-constructive. This is the physical origin of quantization.
This chapter illustrates Niels Bohr's ideas in some detail. In the formulation of his model, Bohr assumed that the electron in the hydrogen atom moves under the influence of the Coulomb attraction between it and the positively charged nucleus, as assumed in classical mechanics. The Bohr model was very successful in explaining the discrete atomic spectra of one-electron atoms. The Bohr model is, of course, a theoretical model of an atom. Using Bohr's quantization postulate, find the linear velocity of the electron's sphere. To find the radius of the orbit, Bohr postulated that the angular momentum of the electron is quantized, i.e., it can only take values that are integer multiples of ħ. The chapter begins with considering the classical equation of motion for the electron in a circular orbit, which is based on Newton's laws of motion and Coulomb's law of electric force.
Abstract The electronic structure of magnetic lanthanide atoms is fascinating from a fundamental perspective. They have electrons in a submerged open 4f shell lying beneath a filled 6s shell with strong relativistic correlations leading to a large magnetic moment and large electronic orbital angular momentum. This large angular momentum leads to strong anisotropies, i. e. orientation dependencies, in their mutual interactions. The long-ranged molecular anisotropies are crucial for proposals to use ultracold lanthanide atoms in spin-based quantum computers, the realization of exotic states in correlated matter, and the simulation of orbitronics found in magnetic technologies. Short-ranged interactions and bond formation among these atomic species have thus far not been well characterized. Efficient relativistic computations are required. Here, for the first time we theoretically determine the electronic and ro-vibrational states of heavy homonuclear lanthanide Er 2 and Tm 2 molecules by applying state-of-the-art relativistic methods. In spite of the complexity of their internal structure, we were able to obtain reliable spin–orbit and correlation-induced splittings between the 91 Er 2 and 36 Tm 2 electronic potentials dissociating to two ground-state atoms. A tensor analysis allows us to expand the potentials between the atoms in terms of a sum of seven spin–spin tensor operators simplifying future research. The strengths of the tensor operators as functions of atom separation are presented and relationships among the strengths, derived from the dispersive long-range interactions, are explained. Finally, low-lying spectroscopically relevant ro-vibrational energy levels are computed with coupled-channels calculations and analyzed.