solid state physics Solid-state physics is the study of rigid matter, or solids, through methods such as quantum mechanics, crystallography, electromagnetism, and metallurgy. It is the largest branch of condensed matter physics. Solid-state physics studies how the l ...

and physical chemistry, the fine electronic structure of a solid are the features of the electronic bands induced by intrinsic interactions between

charge carrier In physics, a charge carrier is a particle or quasiparticle that is free to move, carrying an electric charge, especially the particles that carry electric charges in electrical conductors. Examples are electrons, ions and holes. The term is used ...

s. Valence and conduction bands split slightly compared to the difference between the various bands. Some mechanisms that allow it are angular momentum couplings, spin-orbit coupling, lattice distortions (

Jahn–Teller effect The Jahn–Teller effect (JT effect or JTE) is an important mechanism of spontaneous symmetry breaking in molecular and solid-state systems which has far-reaching consequences in different fields, and is responsible for a variety of phenomena in sp ...

), and other interactions described by crystal field theory. The name comes from the

fine structure In atomic physics, the fine structure describes the splitting of the spectral lines of atoms due to electron spin and relativistic corrections to the non-relativistic Schrödinger equation. It was first measured precisely for the hydrogen atom ...

of atoms, where energy levels suffer from a similar effect from the non- relativistic calculation due to effects like spin–orbit interaction, zitterbewegung, and corrections to the kinetic energy.

References

{{Reflist Atomic physics Solid-state chemistry Condensed matter physics

See also

References