correlation energy

correlation energy

[‚kär·ə′lā·shən ‚en·ər·jē] (atomic physics) The difference between the experimentally measured energy of a particular energy level of an atom or molecule and the energy calculated in the Hartree-Fock approximation. (solid-state physics) The modification of the Coulomb energy of a crystal that results from the tendency of electrons to stay apart from each other.