Blog Archive

Tuesday, September 14, 2021

09-14-2021-0344 - hyperfine structure

In atomic physicshyperfine structure is defined by small shifts in otherwise degenerate energy levels and the resulting splittings in those energy levels of atomsmolecules, and ions, due to interaction between the nucleus and electron clouds.

In atoms, hyperfine structure arises from the energy of the nuclear magnetic dipole moment interacting with the magnetic fieldgenerated by the electrons and the energy of the nuclear electric quadrupole moment in the electric field gradient due to the distribution of charge within the atom. Molecular hyperfine structure is generally dominated by these two effects, but also includes the energy associated with the interaction between the magnetic moments associated with different magnetic nuclei in a molecule, as well as between the nuclear magnetic moments and the magnetic field generated by the rotation of the molecule.

Hyperfine structure contrasts with fine structure, which results from the interaction between the magnetic moments associated with electron spin and the electrons' orbital angular momentum. Hyperfine structure, with energy shifts typically orders of magnitudes smaller than those of a fine-structure shift, results from the interactions of the nucleus (or nuclei, in molecules) with internally generated electric and magnetic fields.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperfine_structure 


No comments:

Post a Comment