Quantized Angular Momentum

In the process of solving the Schrodinger equation for the hydrogen atom, it is found
that the orbital angular momentum is quantized according to the relationship:

It is a characteristic of angular momenta in quantum mechanics that the magnitude of

the angular momentum in terms of the orbital quantum number is of the form

and that the z-component of the angular momentum in terms of the magnetic quantum
number takes the form

This general form applies to orbital angular momentum, spin angular momentum, and
the total angular momentum for an atomic system. The relationship between the
magnitude of the angular momentum and its projection along any direction is space is
often visualized in terms of a vector model.

Total Angular Momentum

When the orbital angular momentum and spin angular momentum are coupled, the total
angular momentum is of the general form for quantized angular momentum

where the total angular momentum quantum number is

This gives a z-component of angular momentum

This kind of coupling gives an even number of angular momentum levels, which is
consistent with the multiplets seen in anomalous Zeeman effects such as that of sodium.

As long as external interactions are not extremely strong, the total angular momentum
of an electron can be considered to be conserved and j is said to be a "good quantum
number". This quantum number is used to characterize the splitting of atomic energy
levels, such as the spin-orbit splitting which leads to the sodium doublet.

Vector Model for angular momentum

The orbital angular momentum for an atomic electron can be visualized in terms of a
vector model where the angular momentum vector is seen as precessing about a
direction in space. While the angular momentum vector has the magnitude shown, only
a maximum of l units can be measured along a given direction, where l is the orbital
quantum number.

Since there is a magnetic moment associated with the orbital angular momentum, the
precession can be compared to the precession of a classical magnetic moment caused by
the torque exerted by a magnetic field. This precession is called Larmor precession and
has a characteristic frequency called the Larmor frequency

While called a "vector", it is a special kind of vector because it's projection along a
direction in space is quantized to values one unit of angular momentum apart. The
diagram shows that the possible values for the "magnetic quantum number" ml for l=2
can take the values

= -2, -1, 0, 1, 2

or, in general

= -l, -l+1,..., l-1, l .

 Vector Model for Total Angular Momentum

When orbital angular momentum L and electron spin angular momentum S are
combined to produce the total angular momentum of an atomic electron, the
combination process can be visualized in terms of a vector model. Both the orbital and
spin angular momentua are seen as precessing about the direction of the total angular
momentum J. This diagram can be seen as describing a single electron, or multiple
electrons for which the spin and orbital angular momenta have been combined to
produce composite angular momenta S and L respectively. In so doing, one has made
assumptions about the coupling of the angular momenta which are described by the L-S
coupling scheme which is appropriate for light atoms with relatively small external
magnetic fields.

The combination is a special kind of vector addition as is illustrated for the single
electron case l=1 and s=1/2. As in the case of the orbital angular momentum alone, the
projection of the total angular momentum along a direction in space is quantized to
values differeing by one unit of angular momentum.

Angular Momentum in a Magnetic Field

Once you have combined orbital and spin angular momenta according to the vector
model, the resulting total angular momentum can be visuallized as precessing about any
externally applied magnetic field.

This is a useful model for dealing with interactions such as the Zeeman effect in
sodium. The magnetic energy contribution is proportional to the component of total
angular momentum along the direction of the magnetic field, which is usually defined
as the z-direction.

The z-component of angular momentum is quantized in values one unit apart, so for the
upper level of the sodium doublet with j=3/2, the vector model gives the splitting
shown.

Even with the vector model, the determination of the magnitude of the Zeeman spliting
is not trivial since the directions of S and L ar constantly changing as they precess about
J. This problem is handled with the Lande' g-factor.

This treatment of the angular momentum is appropriate for weak external magnetic
fields where the coupling between the spin and orbital angular momenta can be
presumed to be stronger than the coupling to the external field. This can be visualized
with the help of a vector model of total angular momentum. If the external field is very
strong, then it can decouple the spin and orbital angular momenta. This strong field case
is called the Paschen-Back effect and leads to different patterns of splitting of the
energy levels.

Electron Spin
An electron spin s = 1/2 is an intrinsic property of
electrons. Electrons have intrinsic angular momentum
characterized by quantum number 1/2. In the pattern of
other quantized angular momenta, this gives total angular
momentum

The resulting fine structure which is observed corresponds

to two possibilities for the z-component of the angular
momentum.

Spin "up" and "down"

allows two electrons for This causes an energy splitting because of the magnetic
each set of spatial quantum moment of the electron
numbers.
 Electron Spin
Two types of experimental evidence which arose in the 1920s suggested an additional
property of the electron. One was the closely spaced splitting of the hydrogen spectral
lines, called fine structure. The other was the Stern-Gerlach experiment which showed
in 1922 that a beam of silver atoms directed through an inhomogeneous magnetic field
would be forced into two beams. Both of these experimental situations were consistent
with the possession of an intrinsic angular momentum and a magnetic moment by
individual electrons. Classically this could occur if the electron were a spinning ball of
charge, and this property was called electron spin.

Quantization of angular momentum had already arisen for orbital angular momentum,
and if this electron spin behaved the same way, an angular momentum quantum number
s = 1/2 was required to give just two states. This intrinsic electron property gives:

Electron Intrinsic Angular Momentum

Experimental evidence like the hydrogen fine structure and the Stern-Gerlach
experiment suggest that an electron has an intrinsic angular momentum, independent of
its orbital angular momentum. These experiments suggest just two possible states for
this angular momentum, and following the pattern of quantized angular momentum, this
requires an angular momentum quantum number of 1/2.

With this evidence, we say that the electron has spin 1/2. An angular momentum and a
magnetic moment could indeed arise from a spinning sphere of charge, but this classical
picture cannot fit the size or quantized nature of the electron spin. The property called
electron spin must be considered to be a quantum concept without detailed classical
analogy. The quantum numbers associated with electron spin follow the characteristic
pattern:

Electron Spin Magnetic Moment

Since the electron displays an intrinsic angular momentum, one might expect a
magnetic moment which follows the form of that for an electron orbit. The z-component
of magnetic moment associated with the electron spin would then be expected to be
but the measured value turns out to be about twice that. The measured value is written

where g is called the gyromagnetic ratio and the electron spin g-factor has the value g =
2.00232 and g=1 for orbital angular momentum. The precise value of g was predicted
by relativistic quantum mechanics in the Dirac equation and was measured in the Lamb
shift experiment. A natural constant which arises in the treatment of magnetic effects is
called the Bohr magneton. The magnetic moment is usually expressed as a multiple of
the Bohr magneton.

The electron spin magnetic moment is important in the spin-orbit interaction which
splits atomic energy levels and gives rise to fine structure in the spectra of atoms. The
electron spin magnetic moment is also a factor in the interaction of atoms with external
magnetic fields (Zeeman effect).

The term "electron spin" is not to be taken literally in the classical sense as a description
of the origin of the magnetic moment described above. To be sure, a spinning sphere of
charge can produce a magnetic moment, but the magnitude of the magnetic moment
obtained above cannot be reasonably modeled by considering the electron as a spinning
sphere. High energy scattering from electrons shows no "size" of the electron down to a
resolution of about 10-3 fermis, and at that size a preposterously high spin rate of some
1032 radian/s would be required to match the observed angular momentum.