Born-Oppenheimer approximation


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Born-Oppenheimer approximation

[¦bȯrn ′äp·ən‚hī·mər ə‚präk·sə‚mā·shən]
(physical chemistry)
The approximation, used in the Born-Oppenheimer method, that the electronic wave functions and energy levels at any instant depend only on the positions of the nuclei at that instant and not on the motions of the nuclei. Also known as adiabatic approximation.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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References in periodicals archive ?
Consequently, in the next subsection, we consider two important approximations of the Schrodinger equation, namely, the adiabatic and the Born-Oppenheimer approximations, which aim to reduce such a complexity.
Adiabatic and Born-Oppenheimer Approximations. The above-mentioned system of differential equations is too complex to be solved directly.
This equation may be further simplified if the adiabatic and the Born-Oppenheimer approximations are enforced:
Computational Methods for Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics
After watching a demonstration of the Argonne-Weizmann method, Michael Kasha, a chemistry professor at Florida State Univ., Tallahassee, says he doesn't plan to change his thinking about the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, which he uses in nearly all of his spectroscopic studies.
The overall credibility of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation will not be reduced, even if it is proven to be ineffective in certain instances, he adds.
"The Born-Oppenheimer approximation is one of the most famous principles in molecular physics," Kasha says.
Tried and true theory doesn't hold water in Coulomb explosion: molecular physics

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