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In quantum physics, energy level splitting or a split in an energy level of a quantum system occurs when a perturbation changes the system. The perturbation changes the corresponding Hamiltonian and the outcome is change in eigenvalues ; several distinct energy levels emerge in place of the former degenerate (multi- state ) level.
In a very general way, energy level differences between electronic states are larger, differences between vibrational levels are intermediate, and differences between rotational levels are smaller, although there can be overlap. Translational energy levels are practically continuous and can be calculated as kinetic energy using classical mechanics.
Illustration of the Jaynes–Cummings model. An atom in an optical cavity is shown as red dot on the top left. The energy levels of the atom that couple to the field mode within the cavity are shown in the circle on the bottom right. Transfer between the two states causes photon emission (absorption) by the atom into (out of) the cavity mode.
For example, the electron configuration of the neon atom is 1s 2 2s 2 2p 6, meaning that the 1s, 2s, and 2p subshells are occupied by two, two, and six electrons, respectively. Electronic configurations describe each electron as moving independently in an orbital , in an average field created by the nuclei and all the other electrons.
A nucleus with spin I splits into 2I + 1 sub-energy levels in the presence of a magnetic field. For example, the first excited state of the 57 Fe nucleus with spin state I = 3/2 will split into 4 non-degenerate sub-states with m I values of +3/2, +1/2, −1/2 and −3/2.
The splitting of the energy levels of an atom or molecule when subjected to an external electric field is known as the Stark effect. For the hydrogen atom, the perturbation Hamiltonian is H ^ s = − | e | E z {\displaystyle {\hat {H}}_{s}=-|e|Ez} if the electric field is chosen along the z -direction.
This was a significant step in the development of quantum mechanics. It also described the possibility of atomic energy levels being split by a magnetic field (called the Zeeman effect). Walther Kossel worked with Bohr and Sommerfeld on the Bohr–Sommerfeld model of the atom introducing two electrons in the first shell and eight in the second. [8]
In this way, the electrons of an atom or ion form the most stable electron configuration possible. An example is the configuration 1s 2 2s 2 2p 6 3s 2 3p 3 for the phosphorus atom, meaning that the 1s subshell has 2 electrons, the 2s subshell has 2 electrons, the 2p subshell has 6 electrons, and so on.