Symbol
The term symbol has the form
-
- 2S+1LJ
where
- S is the total spin quantum number. 2S+1 is the spin multiplicity: the maximum number of different possible states of J for a given (L,S) combination.
- J is the total angular momentum quantum number.
- L is the total orbital quantum number in spectroscopic notation. The first 17 symbols of L are
| L = | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | ... |
| S | P | D | F | G | H | I | K | L | M | N | O | Q | R | T | U | V | (continued alphabetically) |
The nomenclature (S, P, D, F) is derived from the characteristics of the spectroscopic lines corresponding to (s, p, d, f) orbitals: sharp, principal, diffuse, and fundamental, the rest being named in alphabetical order. When used to describe electron states in an atom, the term symbol usually follows the electron configuration, e.g., in the case of carbon, the ground state is 1s22s22p2 3P0. The superscript 3 indicates that the spin state is a triplet, and therefore S=1 (2S+1=3), the P is spectroscopic notation for L=1, and the subscript 0 is the value of J.
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