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The Rydberg states of an atom are electronically excited states with energies that follow the Rydberg formula as they converge on an ionic state with an ionization energy. Although the Rydberg formula was developed to describe atomic energy levels, it has been used to describe many other systems that have electronic structure roughly similar to atomic hydrogen. In general, at sufficiently high principal quantum numbers, an excited electron - ionic core system will have the general character of a hydrogenic system and the energy levels will follow the Rydberg formula. Rydberg states have energies converging on the energy of the ion. The ionization energy threshold is the energy required to completely liberate an electron from the ionic core of an atom or molecule. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Properties In chemistry and physics, an atom (Greek ἄτομος or átomos meaning indivisible) is the smallest particle still characterizing a chemical element. ... The Rydberg formula (Rydberg-Ritz formula) is used in atomic physics for determining the full spectrum of light emission from hydrogen, later extended to be useful with any element by use of the Rydberg-Ritz combination principle. ... The ionization energy (IE) of an atom or of a molecule is the energy required to strip it of an electron. ... e- redirects here. ...

Rydberg series describe the energy levels associated with partially removing an electron from the ionic core. Each Rydberg series converges on an ionization energy threshold associated with a particular ionic core configuration. These quantized Rydberg energy levels can be associated with the quasiclassical Bohr atomic picture. The closer you get to the ionization threshold energy, the higher the principal quantum number, and the smaller the energy difference between "near threshold Rydberg states." As the electron is promoted to higher energy levels, the spacial excursion of the electron from the ionic core increases and the system is more like the Bohr quasiclassical picture. Janne Rydberg Johannes Robert Rydberg, commonly known as Janne Rydberg, (November 8, 1854 - December 28, 1919), was a Swedish physicist mainly known for devising the Rydberg formula, in 1888, which is used to predict the wavelengths of photons (of light and other electromagnetic radiation) emitted by changes in the energy... Niels (Henrik David) Bohr (October 7, 1885 – November 18, 1962) was a Danish physicist who made fundamental contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in 1922. ...

The energy of Rydberg states can be refined by including a correction called the quantum defect in the Rydberg formula. The "quantum defect" correction is associated with the presence of a distributed ionic core. Even for many electronically excited molecular systems, the ionic core interaction with an excited electron can take on the general aspects of the interaction between the proton and the electron in the hydrogen atom. The spectroscopic assignment of these states follows the Rydberg formula and they are called Rydberg states of molecules. In physics, the proton (Greek proton = first) is a subatomic particle with an electric charge of one positive fundamental unit (1. ... General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ...

See also

• Rydberg atom

A Rydberg atom is an excited atom with one or more electrons that have a very high principal quantum number. ...

References

• ATOMIC SPECTRA AND ATOMIC STRUCTURE, Gerhard Herzberg, Prentice-Hall, 1937.
• ATOMS & MOLECULES, Martin Karplus and Richard N. Porter, Benjamin & Company, Inc., 1970.

External links

• http://www.phy.davidson.edu/StuHome/joesten/IntLab/final/rydberg.htm