i i i ition and the spin coordinates of Ifina system of particles, on interchanging the position any ie particles, there is no physical way to know that a change has been made in the system, then the system is said to be consisted of ‘identical’ particles. 2. Formulation of Pauli’s Exclusion Principle The very different chemical behaviours shown by elements whose atomic steuctures differ by just one electron (for example, F, Ne and Na which have 9, 10 and 11 clectroe respectively) indicates that all the electrons of the atom cannot occupy the same quantum State; and that a given atom must have a certain electronic configuration. The fundamen Principle governing the electronic configurations of atoms was discovered by Pauli (1925) according to which no two electrons in a multielectron atom can exist in the sane quantum state. This is known as Pauli’s exclusion principle. We can formulate the Pauli’s principle on the basis of the exchange-symmetry of wave functions describing a system of identical particles. For simplicity, we consider a system of two identical particles and ignore their mutual interaction. ‘The Hamiltonian operator for the system can be written as ‘i ae Re He {- wa Vern.aso} + \- Taba VE + Vey sa) = y+ hh, * * where Hi and Hz are the Hamiltonian operators for the separate non-interacting Particles. The wave function for the ‘system’ can be expressed as a product of wave Functions for the individual particles. Thus, ¥(,2) = WU) yw). wl Here the wave function y refers o the total wave function including both the spatial the spin coordinates. Ifthe particle | is in quantum state a and the particle 2 is in quantum Sate b, then the wave function of the system is Wab (1,2) = ye (1) Wy (2). id be the particle 2 is in state a, then the wave function woul Vou (1,2) = Wo (1) We (2). ls ce Because the particles are indistinguishable, we cannot know whether at ‘any moment Wot! hu describes the system, Both y, have equal likelihood. Therefore, a linear coorbination 1s and Wu is the proper description of the system, Thus Wihe particle 1 isin state and ats! ually likely to be found in either state. I ve function for identical particles because itis eithet sina metric (with ~ sign) with respect to an exchange of COO?wr the two particles. Thus, if the particles of the system are Bose particles, the proper wave function is : 1 Vane (162) = J [ yu) yo) + YD YeQ)], symmetric and if the particles are Fermi particles, the wave function is 1 Veomi (1,2) = $5 [Wa(1) Ws) ~ WoC) Ve 2], antisymmetric If we assume both particles to be in the same quantum static, a = b, Veose (1,2) # 0 but Veeni (1,2) = 0. ‘Thus, whereas two Bose particles can exist in the same quantum state, two Fermi particles cannot, because for Fermi particles the wave function vanishes identically Therefore, we conclude that two non-interacting Fermi particles cannot be in the same quantum state simultaneously, that is, they both cannot be described by the same set of quantum numbers. Thus, Pauli’s original statement of his exclusion principle that *no two electrons in a multielectron atom can exist in the same quantum statc’ is a special case of the more general conclusion just drawn. (Electron is a Fermi particle), We can alternatively say that if two particles are described by antisymmetic wave function, they cannot both be in the same quantum state, Thus, the property of electrons expressed by the exclusion principle is exactly the property of antisymmetric wave functions. This leads us to the statement that a system containing several electrons must be described by an antisymmetric total wave function. This is an alternative expression of the exclusion principle. Physical Significance : If Pauli’s principle were not obeyed, all electrons in an atom would have been in the lowest-energy state, having very high first-excited state. If this ‘were so, all atoms would be inert and would not combine with other atoms to form molecules. Then the entire universe would be radically different. For instance, with no molecules there would be no compounds and hence no life. 3. Symmetry Character of Various Particles The symmetry character of particles is settled by experiment, It is found that systems of electrons, protons, neutrons etc. must be described by antisymmetric total Cigenfunctions; while systems of photons, helium atoms etc. must be described by Symmetric total eigenfunctions. In the following table are listed several particles, their Symmetry character and the values of their spin quantum number. then we sce that Symmetry Generic Name _| Spin (») antisymmetric fermion v2 antisymmetric fermion In antisymmetric fermion 2 antisymmetric fermion 2 antisymmetric fermion symmetric boson He atom (ground state) | symmetric boson paaee symmetric boson Photon symmetric boson L symmetric boson