Consider the secular equations relating the coefficients and energies of two interacting atomic orbitals below:
(\alphaa - e)ca + (\beta - es)cb = 0
(\beta - es)ca + (\alphab - e)cb = 0
1) briefly describe in words what \alpha , \beta , and s represent. in what situations are their values smaller or larger?
2) for a homonuclear diatomic molecule like h2, the values of \alpha a and \alpha b are equal (let’s define them both as \alpha ). what are the energies of the bonding and antibonding orbitals in terms of \alpha , \beta , and s? (hint: solve the secular equations for ca/cb. for each possible value of ca/cb, solve for the molecular orbital energy e.