j-j coupling

j-j coupling

[¦jā¦jā ‚kəp·liŋ] (atomic physics) A process for building up many-electron wave functions; the spin and orbital functions of each particle are combined to form eigenfunctions of the particle's total angular momentum, and then the wave functions of all the particles are combined to form eigenfunctions of the total angular momentum of the system; this coupling is used when the spin-orbit interaction is strong compared to the electrostatic interaction.