The exchange operator is a quantum mechanical operator used in the field of quantum chemistry. Specifically, it is a term found in the Fock operator. It is defined as:
where is the one-electron exchange operator,
are the one-electron wavefunction being acted upon by the Exchange operator as functions of the positions of electron 1 and electron 2,
are the one-electron wavefunction of the j-th electron as functions of the positions of electron 1 and electron 2,
is the distance between electrons 1 and 2.
In quantum physics the exchange operator can be thought of as a Hermitian operator which swaps the labels on any two identical particles.
Famous quotes containing the word exchange:
“I know nothing which life has to offer so satisfying as the profound good understanding, which can subsist, after much exchange of good offices, between two virtuous men, each of whom is sure of himself, and sure of his friend. It is a happiness which postpones all other gratifications, and makes politics, and commerce, and churches, cheap.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)