Oneelectron

Oneelectron, typically written one-electron, refers to systems or processes involving a single electron, either as a physical particle or as an idealized model used in physics and chemistry. It is a foundational concept for understanding atomic structure, chemical reactivity, and nanoscale electronics, serving as a reference point for more complex many-electron situations.

In atomic physics, the one-electron atom is exemplified by the hydrogen atom and hydrogen-like ions. The Schrödinger equation for such systems can be solved analytically, yielding discrete energy levels and well-defined orbital wavefunctions. The nonrelativistic energy scales as -13.6 eV divided by the square of the principal quantum number, and the solutions illustrate fundamental aspects of atomic orbitals, angular momentum, and spin.

In chemistry, oneelectron processes describe the transfer or removal of a single electron between species. These include radical formation, one-electron oxidation or reduction (single-electron transfer, SET), and photoinduced electron transfer. Such reactions underpin redox chemistry, photochemistry, and certain catalytic cycles, and they are often treated as stepping stones toward more complete many-electron descriptions.

In condensed matter and nanoscale electronics, single-electron phenomena arise in devices that manipulate individual electrons. Concepts such as Coulomb blockade and single-electron transistors rely on charge discreteness on tiny islands, enabling highly sensitive detection and control at the single-electron level.

The oneelectron picture provides a clean, solvable framework that informs intuition and guides more sophisticated many-electron theories. It also emphasizes fundamental properties such as spin-1/2 and Pauli exclusion, which remain relevant when extending analyses to multi-electron systems. Real materials generally involve many electrons, but the oneelectron model remains a crucial starting point across disciplines.