The wavefunction of a many-electron atom is very complicated…
The wavefunction of a many-electron atom is very complicated. The orbital approximation states that a reasonable first approximation to this exact wavefunction is obtained by thinking of each electron as occupying its ‘own’ orbital. The individual orbitals can be assumed to resemble the hydrogenic orbitals. The following figure shows (a) a contour plot in the xy plane and (b) the radial function. Please identify the orbital. (Hints: the contour plot and radial function indicate the number of angular nodes/nodal planes and radial nodes, respectively; treat this as hydrogen orbital).
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