Past exam of the atomic and laser physics course of the University of Oxford 2022 2 a Solution 2026-10-25
Let the dimensionful angular momentum operators obey and take the interaction Hamiltonian as . Sincethe energy eigenvalues at fixed arewhere . Subtraction gives the Landé interval ruleMany atomic conventions use dimensionless angular momentum operators and call the energy-valued constant itself ; then the right-hand side is . Each energy level has magnetic sublevels with the same energy in zero field.
For fine structure, the effective interaction is with dimensionless angular momentum operators. It originates in the spin-orbit interaction, including the magnetic interaction of electron spin with orbital motion and its relativistic correction. Within an isolated LS coupling atomic term, the labels are the electron configuration, , and the interval between adjacent energy levels is . This is smaller than the electrostatic separation of atomic terms.
For magnetic-dipole hyperfine structure, the nuclear magnetic dipole moment interacts with the magnetic field generated by the electrons. Contributions include the Fermi contact interaction of penetrating electrons, orbital magnetic fields, and the dipolar field of electron spin. Projected onto one electronic energy level, their rotationally invariant magnetic-dipole part has the form . The labels are , together with the approximate electronic labels such as . This splitting is generally smaller than fine structure, reflecting the much smaller nuclear magnetic dipole moment. An electric nuclear quadrupole moment can add a different interaction and violate the simple Landé interval rule.
At the larger electrostatic energy scale, an effective two-spin exchange interaction can also be written within fixed orbitals. Its origin is the Coulomb interaction combined with the Pauli exclusion principle, rather than a large direct magnetic interaction. It separates singlet state and triplet state atomic terms; before spin-orbit coupling, useful labels include the electron configuration, . General electrostatic atomic term separations need not obey a single Landé interval rule as varies.
Past exam of the atomic and laser physics course of the University of Oxford 2022 2 b Solution 2026-10-25
The shell carries a large spin (its ground atomic term under Hund's rules has ), and the electron penetrates the inner shells. Its nonzero probability density at the atomic nucleus supplies a potentially large Fermi contact interaction with the nuclear magnetic dipole moment. The shell here is singly occupied, so the obligatory paired- cancellation is absent. Both stable europium isotopes have nonzero nuclear spin, as the spectrum below also establishes.
The term symbol specifies , , . Its large , combined with appreciable nuclear spin, permits a wide range of total angular momentum and hence a substantial total hyperfine structure span. For , and the span is . The penetrating contribution and the available range of explain the large hyperfine structure; the term symbol alone does not determine its constant, which also depends on electronic recoupling, radial wavefunctions and configuration interaction.
Past exam of the atomic and laser physics course of the University of Oxford 2022 2 d Solution 2026-10-25
The remaining six positions give the other isotope's sequenceThe adjacent differences divided by are , respectively. Thus and the same endpoint argument gives .
For the same electronic energy level, the magnetic-dipole hyperfine structure constant is proportional to , to leading order in the small isotope-dependent change of the electronic wavefunction. Since the two nuclear spins are equal,Using the full spans averages over the approximate Landé interval rule: , soThe constants have the same sign, so the nuclear magnetic dipole moments have the same relative sign. Their absolute sign cannot be obtained from their ratio without the electronic field's sign. Finite nuclear-size corrections to the hyperfine interaction, often called the hyperfine anomaly, and electric-quadrupole corrections are neglected at this accuracy.