Aims

The objective of the course is to present the fundamental aspects of the structures and properties of atoms, ions and diatomic molecules.

Main themes

Part I Physics of atoms
-The structure of atoms and ions is based on a brief review of some relevant results of quantum mechanics and spectroscopy
-Hydrogenoid systems, quantum defect
-Many-electron atoms : Hartree-Fock method and Self-Consistent-Field approximation, central field and corrections, coupling schemes, isoelectronic series

Part II Molecular Physics
-Born-Oppenheimer approximation.
-Electronic states: adiabatic states, molecular orbitals, terms
-Symmetries and correlation diagrams of diatomic molecules
-Vibrational and rotational states
-Radiative transitions, selection rules
-Introduction to molecular dynamics
NB: An introduction to various illustrations by means of user-friendly computer codes in atomic and molecular structure and dynamics is provided during the supervised practical works.

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Prerequisite : basic courses in physics and quantum mechanics

Other credits in programs