ZCE305: Atomic and Nuclear Physics
Spins and It’s Quantum Treatment
M. R. Omar
School of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Spin Angular Momentum, S
What is Spin?
Spin is an intrinsic property of fundamental particles, such as elec-
trons, protons, and neutrons. It is a form of angular momentum,
but it is not related to the particle’s motion nor rotation in space!
1 Spin is a fundamental property of particles, similar to their mass
and charge.
2 It’s often described using the concept of spin quantum number,
s.
3 Spin angular momentum is responsible for the magnetic prop-
erties of particles.
M. R. Omar ZCE305: Atomic and Nuclear Physics
Spin Quantum Numbers
Definition
In quantum theory, a particle can only takes certain discrete spin
angular momentum values. They are quantized. The spin angular
momentum (spin) can be determined using the spin quantum
number, s.
For spin-1/2 particles (e.g., electrons):
s = 1/2
This means there are two possible states: spin-up (+ 12 ) and
spin-down (− 21 ).
For spin-3/2 particles:
s = 3/2
In this case, there are four possible states: + 32 , + 12 , − 12 , and
− 23 .
M. R. Omar ZCE305: Atomic and Nuclear Physics
Spin Quantum Numbers
Definition
The general formula for the total number of spin states for a
particle is given by:
2s + 1
Spin is quantized, and its magnitude is defined as:
p
|S| = ℏ s(s + 1) (1)
where ℏ is the reduced Planck constant.
M. R. Omar ZCE305: Atomic and Nuclear Physics
Electron Orbital Angular Momentum
Definition
Orbital angular momentum, denoted as L, is a property of an
electron’s motion in an atom. It describes the angular momentum
associated with the electron’s path or orbit around the nucleus.
The magnitude of orbital angular momentum is given by:
|L| = mvr
where m is the electron’s mass, v is its velocity, and r is the
distance from the nucleus.
The direction of L is perpendicular to the electron’s orbital
plane.
M. R. Omar ZCE305: Atomic and Nuclear Physics
The quantization of angular
momentum is described by:
p
L = ℏ ℓ(ℓ + 1) (2)
where ℓ is the quantum
number for orbital angular
momentum.
M. R. Omar ZCE305: Atomic and Nuclear Physics
Spin State of a Multi-particle System
Multi-particle Hilbert Space Formation
If Φ = {|ϕ⟩i1 , |ϕ⟩i2 , · · · , | ϕ⟩iσ } spans the spinors of a σ-dimensional
Hilbert space for a one-particle system, then the spinors for a system of n
particles is given by:
′
Φ = Φ1 ⊗ Φ2 ⊗ · · · ⊗ Φn (3)
Pauli Exclusion Principle
Any half integer spin particle state can be expressed as a superposition,
i.e., a sum, of these basis vectors:
X ′
|ψ⟩ = Aj |ϕ ⟩j (4)
Φ′
sgn(Aj ) = εi1 i2 ···iσ (5)
where Aj ∈ C ∀j and ε is the Levi-Civita symbol.
M. R. Omar ZCE305: Atomic and Nuclear Physics
A System of One Spin-1/2 Fermion
Spin-1/2 Spinors
A spin-1/2 particle represented by the state vector |ψ⟩ exists in a
superposition of ”up” | ↑⟩ and ”down” | ↓⟩ spinors.
c
In general form: |ψ⟩ = c0 | ↑⟩ + c1 | ↓⟩, where 0 with
c1
2 2
c0 , c1 ∈ C and |c0 | + |c1 | = 1.
1
The spinors are concisely expressed as: | ↑⟩ = and
0
0
| ↓⟩ = .
1
M. R. Omar ZCE305: Atomic and Nuclear Physics
A system of two Spin-1/2 Fermions
Example
Suppose there exists two spin-1/2 fermions. The spinors are given
by the following tensor product: Let Φ1 = (| ↑⟩ | ↓⟩)T and
Φ2 = (| ↑⟩ | ↓⟩)T .
| ↑⟩
Φ1 ⊗ Φ2 = · | ↑⟩ | ↓⟩
| ↓⟩
| ↑↑⟩ | ↑↓⟩
=
| ↓↑⟩ | ↓↓⟩
Due to Eq. (5), we know that the complex amplitude of | ↑↑⟩ and
| ↓↓⟩ are zero.
M. R. Omar ZCE305: Atomic and Nuclear Physics
Estimating the Spin
Spin Operator
In quantum mechanics, the spin of a particle is given by
ℏ
S = ⟨ψ| σ|ψ⟩ (6)
2
where ℏ is the reduced Planck constant and σ represents the Pauli
spin matrices.
Pauli Spin Matrices
The Pauli matrices for spin-1/2:
0 1 0 −i 1 0
σx = , σy = , σz =
1 0 i 0 0 −1
M. R. Omar ZCE305: Atomic and Nuclear Physics
Magnetic Moment of Particles
Moment Due To Orbital Angular Momentum
The magnetic moment (µ) of a particle with charge q and angular
momentum L is given by:
q
µ= L (7)
2m
µ: Magnetic moment
q: Charge of the particle
m: Mass of the particle
L: Angular momentum of the particle
M. R. Omar ZCE305: Atomic and Nuclear Physics
Magnetic Moment and Spin
Moment Due To Spin
The magnetic moment of a particle is quantized and is expressed
in terms of the magnetic quantum number (µz ):
q
µ=g S = γS (8)
2m
g: Lande g-factor (dimensionless constant)
m: Particle mass
Particle Symbol g-factor
e− ge −2.00231930436118(27)
µ (muon) gµ −2.00233184121(82)
p gp +5.5856946893(16)
n gn −3.82608545(90)
M. R. Omar ZCE305: Atomic and Nuclear Physics
Larmor Precession
Definition
Larmor precession is the preces-
sional motion of the magnetic mo-
ment of a particle (e.g., an elec-
tron) around an external magnetic
field.
Larmor frequency:
ωL = −γB (9)
Figure: γ dictates the precession di-
where γ is the gyromagnetic
rection. Magnetic moments (black
ratio, and B is the external arrows), external field (green arrows).
magnetic field strength.
M. R. Omar ZCE305: Atomic and Nuclear Physics
Gyromagnetic Ratio
Definition
The gyromagnetic ratio (γ) is a constant that relates the magnetic
moment of a particle to its spin angular momentum.
For a particle with charge q and mass m, the gyromagnetic
ratio is given by:
gq
γ= (10)
2m
M. R. Omar ZCE305: Atomic and Nuclear Physics
