1. Hartree-Fock theory describes molecules using a linear combination of atomic orbitals to approximate molecular orbitals. It treats electrons as independent particles moving in the average field of other electrons.
2. The Hartree-Fock method involves iteratively solving the Fock equations until self-consistency is reached between the input and output orbitals. This approximates electron correlation by including an average electron-electron repulsion term.
3. The Hartree-Fock method satisfies the Pauli exclusion principle through the use of Slater determinants, which are antisymmetric wavefunctions that go to zero when the spatial or spin coordinates of any two electrons are identical.