| MadSci Network: Physics |
Hi Walter,
there is a difference in principle between spin degrees of freedom and
rotational degrees of freedom. Spin degrees of freedom live in an internal
space. However, also spin of charged particles induces a dipole moment. For
expample let us consider an atom with one electron. The dipolemoment of the
nucleus interacts with the dipolemoment of the electron. This results in a
perturbation of the energy levels of the atom. This is called hyperfine structure. This shift depends on the spin of
the nucleus, the spin of the electron and the angular momentum of the
electron. So some quantities of the atom are influenced by the angular
momentum of the electron and the spin of the nucleus, such as its spectrum.
But the angular momentum of the electron is independent of the spin (both,
of the nucleus and of the electron itself).
Since the spin and the angular momentum live in independent spaces, they do
not influence each other. However, they can couple and that influences
other quantities, such as enegery levels of the whole system.
Best regards,
Michael
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