Properties of autoionizing states of He

Abstract

The properties of Rydberg series of autoionizing levels of He converging to the n = 2 level of He+ are discussed on the basis of the assumption that the Schrödinger equation is approximately separable in the coordinates R = (r12 + r22)1/2 and α = tan-1 r2/r1. For each Rydberg series a `potential' in R is obtained, and the properties of the autoionizing states follow from the shape of the `potentials'. Energies of some of the states are calculated and compared with energies from experiment and more conventional calculations.