Two-electron states in the first two shells of an isotropic oscillator

ID: two-electron-states-in-the-first-two-shells-of-an-isotropic-oscillator

The spatial ground orbital of a three-dimensional quantum harmonic oscillator has and energy ; its first excited shell has and energy . Two identical Electrons both in the ground orbital must form the singlet state, giving one state at total energy .
At energy , one electron occupies each shell. There are two ground-shell spin orbitals and six first-excited-shell spin orbitals, hence twelve Slater determinants. Equivalently, gives ; symmetric spatial combinations with the singlet state give three states, while antisymmetric spatial combinations with the triplet states give nine. Distinct occupied orbitals allow both spatial exchange symmetries, so both spin sectors must be kept.

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