Carbon has a p2 configuration, and within the Russell-Saunders coupling scheme, we have
s1=s2=12S=1,0l1=l2=1L=2,1,0
which gives rise to 3D, 1D, 3P, 1P, 3S, and 1S terms. Out of these six, only 1D, 3P, and 1S are allowed by the Pauli principle.
It's not hard to show that the 3D term is forbidden, since this term has to contain one state with ml1=ml2=1, which would correspond to a spatial wavefunction that is symmetric with respect to interchange of the two electrons. Pairing this with a triplet spin wavefunction, which is also symmetric, would lead to an overall symmetric wavefunction, which is not allowed.
But that's all the textbooks say - they don't describe why the 1P term is forbidden, for example. I know how to construct a table of microstates, and I know I can use the direct product table of the full rotation group to find that P×P=S+[P]+D, and I know that both of these methods show that the allowed term symbols are only 1D, 3P, and 1S.
Essentially, I am looking for a more intuitive explanation of why the 1P and 3S states are forbidden that preferably links back to the requirement that the wavefunction be antisymmetric - if that is possible.
Alternatively, an explanation of why P×P=S+[P]+D would also work. I know that from the Clebsch-Gordan series we get S, P, and D terms, but not why the P state should be antisymmetric. I do know the general idea of how to obtain the vector coupling coefficients (by repeated application of raising/lowering operators), and these do show that the P state is antisymmetric, but I'd like a more interpretative answer than just "that's how the maths works out".
Answer
Okay, actually I managed to find somewhat of an explanation myself.
We could construct a state with ML=1 and MS=0, for example: ψ=12[2p1(1)2p0(2)+2p0(1)2p1(2)][α(1)β(2)−β(1)α(2)]
where 2pm represents the 2p orbital with ml=m.
However, such a combination of (ML,MS) can only occur once, since the two electrons are indistinguishable. In other words, the following two other wavefunctions are not permissible because permuting the two electrons changes the wavefunction: ψ=1√2[2p1(1)2p0(2)][α(1)β(2)−β(1)α(2)]ψ=1√2[2p0(1)2p1(2)][α(1)β(2)−β(1)α(2)]
and the 1D state, which has S=0⇒MS=0 and L=2⇒ML=2,1,0,−1,−2, already has to encompass one state with such a combination of (ML,MS). Therefore, a state with (ML,MS)=(1,0) cannot contribute to a 1P term.
It is logically not the strongest argument (sufficiency vs necessity), but it is kind of what I was looking for. If anybody can provide another viewpoint though I will be glad to accept the answer.
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