Wigner-Seitz method

Wigner-Seitz method

[′wig·nər ′zīts ‚meth·əd] (solid-state physics) A method of approximating the band structure of a solid: Wigner-Seitz cells surrounding atoms in the solid are approximated by spheres, and band solutions of the Schrödinger equation for one electron are estimated by using the assumption that an electronic wave function is the product of a plane wave function and a function whose gradient has a vanishing radial component at the sphere's surface.