In
quantum mechanics, a
Slater determinant is an expression that describes the
wavefunction of a multi-
fermionic system that satisfies
anti-symmetry requirements and consequently the
Pauli principle by changing
sign upon exchange of two electrons (or other fermions). It is named for
John C. Slater, who introduced the determinants in 1929 as a means of ensuring the antisymmetry of a wave function. But actually the wave function in the determinant form first appeared three years earlier independently in Heisenberg's and Dirac's papers. The Slater determinant arises from the consideration of a wave function for a collection of electrons, each with a wave function known as the
spin-orbital,
, where
denotes the position and spin of the singular electron. Two electrons within the same spin orbital result in no wave function.