In quantum mechanics, the term symbol is an abbreviated description of the (total) angular momentum quantum numbers in a multi-electron atom (however, even a single electron can be described by a term symbol). Each energy level of an atom with a given electron configuration is described by not only the electron configuration but also its own term symbol, as the energy level also depends on the total angular momentum including spin. The usual atomic term symbols assume LS coupling (also known as Russell–Saunders coupling or spin-orbit coupling). The ground state term symbol is predicted by Hund's rules.
The use of the word term for an energy level is based on the Rydberg–Ritz combination principle, an empirical observation that the wavenumbers of spectral lines can be expressed as the difference of two terms. This was later summarized by the Bohr model, which identified the terms (multiplied by hc, where h is the Planck constant and c the speed of light) with quantized energy levels and the spectral wavenumbers (again multiplied by hc) with photon energies.
Tables of atomic energy levels identified by their term symbols have been compiled by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. In this database, neutral atoms are identified as I, singly ionized atoms as II, etc. Neutral atoms of the chemical elements have the same term symbol for each column in the s-block and p-block elements, but may differ in d-block and f-block elements if the ground-state electron configuration changes within a column. Ground state term symbols for chemical elements are given below.