Spin‐Orbit Coupling in Molecules

Chapter 3 addresses the important issue of spin-orbit coupling, which is a quantum mechanical relativistic effect that affects molecular properties. Topics covered include: The Stern-Gerlach Experiment Zeeman Spectroscopy Spin Is a Quantum Effect Orbital Angular Momentum General Angular Momenta Spin Angular Momentum Full one- and Two-Electron Spin-Orbit Operators Valence-Only Spin-Orbit Hamiltonians Effective One-Electron Spin-Orbit Hamiltonians Symmetry Transformation Properties of the Wavefunction Symmetry Transformation Properties of the Hamiltonian Symmetry Matrix Elements Computational Aspects Evaluation of Spin-Orbit Integrals Perturbational Approaches to Spin-Orbit Coupling Variational Procedures First-Order Spin-Orbit Splitting Compared to Experiment Second-order Spin-Orbit Splitting Compared to Experiment Spin-Forbidden Radiative Transitions Spin-Forbidden Nonradiative Transitions