Within a fixed isolated electronic multiplet, the electronic field at the nucleus is a vector operator. Rotational symmetry and the Wigner-Eckart theorem imply that its projection into this multiplet is proportional to :Its detailed orbital, spin-dipolar and contact contributions are included in the reduced coefficient . Consequently the projected magnetic-dipole hyperfine interaction becomesin the same dimensionless angular-momentum convention as a. The proportionality is a statement about matrix elements within the chosen electronic manifold, not an identity for the electron field operator on the entire atomic Hilbert space.
Define . In zero external field the quantum states obtained by addition of angular momentum are labelled , where specifies the electron configuration and other fixed labels. The good quantum numbers include , with and . In a description using LS coupling the fixed electronic labels can also include . The energies depend on but not :This neglects coupling to other electronic manifolds, electric-quadrupole hyperfine interactions and the Zeeman effect from external fields. Those additions can shift the intervals or change which quantum numbers remain useful.
For a hyperfine multiplet governed by the magnetic-dipole hyperfine interaction, adjacent frequency gaps obey . The five measured gaps for the first isotope are approximately in the ratios . Therefore the six levels have : the first measured gap corresponds to higher . In particular and , givingThis inference uses both the number of intervals and their successive ratios. Merely seeing six levels would specify only and would not by itself establish equality.
Solving a linear least-squares problem for a fit through the origin, taking the rounded frequencies as equally weighted, givesThus the scale of the hyperfine structure is about J, or eV. The displayed frequencies have unequal rounding precision, so additional fit digits are not physically warranted. The gap pattern supports a leading dipole interval rule, with small residuals that do not establish higher-multipole constants without uncertainties.
The total width between and is , about GHz in frequency units. The sign of , the absolute nuclear g-factor and the electronic field coefficient cannot be separated from these gap magnitudes alone. Measuring the level ordering or using another known magnetic property would supply additional information. The figure in b shows the positive- ordering as an illustration.
For the second isotope, consecutive gap differences are approximately MHz, but the smallest gap is about times this value. The higher- values for the five gaps are therefore . The six levels run from to . The electronic state is unchanged, so as in d; the endpoints giveFor example, fitting to with the same equal-weight convention gives MHz. The nearly constant gap differences are compatible with the same leading model of the magnetic-dipole hyperfine interaction and the printed rounding.
Within an unchanged electronic state, and neglecting isotope-dependent changes of the electronic wave function and hyperfine anomaly, . Thusor the reciprocal magnitude is about . This is a ratio of nuclear g-factors, not directly a ratio of nuclear magnetic moments: , so the moment-magnitude ratio would additionally contain and is about .
The positive transition frequencies do not fix either coupling sign. If a signed ratio is required, equal signs must be supplied as an additional assumption or determined by an ordering-sensitive measurement. No absolute nuclear g-factor is inferred without a calibrated electronic field coefficient. The second ladder in b illustrates the inferred half-integer sequence without turning that sign ambiguity into a falsely measured ordering.
Consecutive positive gaps obey for an isolated hyperfine multiplet governed by the magnetic-dipole hyperfine interaction. Their common difference estimates , and the first gap divided by that scale identifies the first higher F. The endpoints of the resulting F ladder constrain I and J. Gap magnitudes alone do not fix the sign of A or an absolute nuclear g-factor.