[.ca] The Theory of Atomic Spectra (ISBN 0521092094)

Solid book, though not so user friendly.:
This is the legendary "theory of atomic spectra" so often referred to in various quantum mechanics books. It contains detailed accounts of various schemes of describing the spectra of various atoms, dealing with all sorts of approximation schemes. The first part of this book concisely summarizes some of the important aspects of quantum theory (radiation, angular momentum, perturbation theory and the hydrogen atom), followed by a very good discussion of the spectrum of the hydrogen atom and of one-electron atoms in general. Then various approximations are discussed: the central field approximation, jj-coupling, RS coupling, spin-orbit interactions, almost closed shells, etc . . . Although written in 1935 (and revised in 1962), this books remains relevant for today's students; the laws of nature, after all, don't grow old as books do. Another good thing about this book is the wealth of information one can find in it. If it has to do with atoms, you'll probably find it here - for instance, a very good discussion of rare gases and of the finiteness of the nucleus. The good things having been said, it's now time to move on to some bad points. Two, actually; first of all, some of the modern methods of dealing with atoms are not included in this book (naturally, considering the time it was written in). This means that this book is not aimed at helping current research but at neatly summarizing past knowledge. Also, its style is dry and a bit tiresome. I'd recommend this book to people who are interested in learning about atomic physics. It is too specialized for anyone from outside the field.