Speaker
Description
The non-relativistic energies of the low-lying states of lithium have been calculated to a relative accuracy of $ 10^{-15}$ [1, 2]. However, for higher-lying states, the accuracy in energy eigenvalues decreases significantly as the principal quantum number increases [3]. Drake has developed an effective method [4] to solve the Schrödinger equation of the Rydberg states of two-electron atomic systems, in which the “zeroth-order wave function” is included in the variational wave function. Following Drake, we extended his method to lithium and found that this “zeroth-order wave function” is essential in increasing the accuracy of the non-relativistic energies of the highly excited states of lithium. Taking the nP (5<=n<=10) states for example, the non-relativistic energies can be calculated to 13-14 converged digits; in comparison, we can hardly obtain 11 significant digits without using this “zeroth-order wave function”. This method will supply us a feasible way to study the Rydberg states of three-electron atomic systems at a high precision level.
