Universal and nonuniversal statistical properties of levels and intensities for chaotic Rydberg molecules

Journal Article · Sat May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1993 · Physical Review A; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.47.3571· OSTI ID:6649285

Lombardi, M; Seligman, T H ^[1]

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1. Laboratoire de Spectrometrie Physique-Universite Joseph Fourier de Grenoble, Boite Postale No. 87, 38402 Saint Martin d'Heres, CEDEX (France)

We study Rydberg molecules taking into account the interaction between the rotational motion of the nuclei and the radial motion of the electron. This situation can be treated to a good approximation in quantum mechanics by the multichannel quantum-defect method which in turn has a well-defined classical limit. We are able to calculate very long sequences of levels and the corresponding amplitudes of wave packets. This allows us to study the statistical properties of both in detail. Our interest focuses on aspects of quantum chaos'' that can be particularly well understood in this case. Our main result is that, in a completely chaotic classical situation, where statistics of quantum-level spacings follow the expected universal Gaussian-orthogonal-ensemble behavior, and statistics of line intensities display the expected universal Porter-Thomas behavior, nonuniversal properties are explicitly contained in correlations between intensities and spacings, determined by the time needed for the classical system to mix on a length scale given by the quantum wavelength.

• OSTI ID: 6649285
• Journal Information: Physical Review A; (United States), Journal Name: Physical Review A; (United States) Vol. 47:5; ISSN 1050-2947; ISSN PLRAAN
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

664100* -- Theory of Electronic Structure of Atoms & Molecules-- (1992-)
74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE
ENERGY LEVELS
EXCITED STATES
MATHEMATICS
MOLECULES
RYDBERG STATES
SPECTRA
STATISTICS
WAVE PACKETS