Orthogonal tight-binding approximation

In the orthogonal tight-binding approximation, localized basis states satisfy $⟨i|j⟩={\delta }_{ij}$ while the Hamiltonian retains nonzero hopping integrals. These are independent matrix elements: orthogonal states need not have vanishing Hamiltonian coupling. One can construct localized orthonormal orbitals from overlapping atomic orbitals; truncating the resulting Hamiltonian to nearest neighbours is a further approximation. An overlap matrix must instead be retained for raw nonorthogonal orbitals.