Elementary Quantum Chemistry, Second Edition

Frank L. Pilar

• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9780486414645
• eBook ISBN: 9780486143873
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Chemistry
• Index: Chemistry

As the author notes in the Preface to this valuable text, experimental chemists have moved past studying the average behavior of atoms or molecules "to probe the step-by-step behavior of individual atoms and molecules as they collide, form 'transition states,' and ultimately form products." In such experiments, quantum mechanical computations do two useful tasks: They fill in the observational gaps and help to interpret what has been observed.
This introductory course — developed by the former chairman of the chemistry department at the University of New Hampshire — covers, among other topics, the origins of the quantum theory, the Schrödinger wave equation, the quantum mechanics of simple systems, the rigid rotator, the hydrogen atom, electron spin and many-electron systems, the quantum states of atoms, the Hartree-Fock self-consistent field method, the electronic structure of molecules, and semi-empirical molecular orbital methods. One of the great values of the course is its calculations and diagrams, which were created specifically for this text and which students will be able to replicate on their home computers.
The text will be most useful for advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate students who have had calculus and at least a year of undergraduate physics. A knowledge of differential equations, linear algebra, and atomic physics is helpful but not essential. Seven appendices give a concise exposition of mathematical and physical material that may not be part of the students' background.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• About the Author
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Chapter 1  Origins of the Quantum Theory
• Chapter 2  The Schrodinger Wave Equation
• Chapter 3  The Quantum Mechanics of Some Simple Systems
• Chapter 4  Quantum Theory of Angular Momentum: The Rigid Rotator
• Chapter 5  The Hydrogen Atom
• Chapter 6  Approximate Solutions to the Schrodinger Equation
• Chapter 7  Electron Spin and Many-Electron Systems
• Chapter 8  The Quantum States of Atoms
• Chapter 9  The Algebra of Many-Electron Calculations
• Chapter 10  The Hartree-Fock Self-Consistent Field Method
• Chapter 11  Introduction to Molecular Structure
• Chapter 12  The Electronic Structure of Linear Molecules
• Chapter 13  The Electronic Structure of Nonlinear Molecules
• Chapter 14  Semiempirical Molecular Orbital Methods I: Pi Electron Systems
• Chapter 15  Semiempirical Molecular Orbital Methods II: All Valence-Electron Systems
• Appendix 1  Values of Physical Constants
• Appendix 2  Electrostatic and Electromagnetic Units
• Appendix 3  Evaluation of Some Simple Helium Atom Integrals
• Appendix 4  Vector and Operator Algebra
• Appendix 5  Elements of Matrix Algebra
• Appendix 6  Molecular Symmetry
• Appendix 7  Character Tables for Some Common Molecular Point Groups
• Name Index
• Subject Index