Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Rotational Structure Of Extremely Floppy Van Der Waals Complexes: Adiabatic Separation Of Angular And Radial Motion, P. Daniel Ward

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The adiabatic or Born-Oppenheimer approximation is often used in molecular calculations to simplify the solution to the Schrödinger equation. The basis of the approximation is the large difference in the relative motions of the nuclei and electrons in the molecule—the electrons are able to respond almost instantly to the movements of the nuclei. Thus, the nuclei may be regarded as being fixed in a certain position and the Schrödinger equation can then be solved using the potential obtained by solving the electronic problem at fixed nuclear configuration.

A similar argument can be used to decouple the angular and radial motions …