The Fermi, or Exchange, Hole in Atoms

Slater has recently introduced the concept of an averaged exchange hole as a basis for an approximation to the exchange potential, which arises in the Hartree-Fock equations. Use of the density matrix leads to a natural definition of the exchange hole which is identical with that obtained in a different manner by Slater. The distribution, size and shape of the exchange hole have been studied for neon and argon, using Slater wave functions, and the results give further information concerning the nature of the hole. The Slater approximation of a spherical exchange charge, centred at the electron, is discussed.