The Molecular Orbitals of N2

In this chapter, the author considers another homonuclear diatomic molecule, N 2 . While N 2 is still very simple, it has some important lessons to teach us about s-p hybridization. Diagonalize the Hamiltonian matrix to obtain eigenvectors and eigenvalues, then use our functions to plot pictures of the orbitals. Finally, compile the resulting pictures and energy eigenvalues into a molecular orbitals diagram into a single image. The form of the Hamiltonian matrix can be greatly simplified if we recognize that in quantum mechanics pairs of symmetrically equivalent basis functions generally appear as symmetric or antisymmetric combinations. Create the full set of symmetrized basis functions, and finish generating the 16×16 Hamiltonian matrix for this basis. Also, plot pictures of the symmetrized orbitals and paste screenshots of them on a presentation slide.