Precise nonvariational calculation of excited states of helium with the correlation-function hyperspherical-harmonic method

R. Krivec*, M. I. Haftel, V. B. Mandelzweig

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

A direct solution of the Schrödinger equation for the 2 1S, 3 1S, 4 1S, and 5 1S states of the helium atom is obtained with the correlation-function hyperspherical-harmonic (CFHH) method. Given the proper correlation function chosen from physical considerations, the method generates wave functions accurate in the whole range of interparticle distances that lead, in turn, to precise estimates of the expectation values of the Hamiltonian and of different functions of interparticle distances. Our results show that even with the simplest correlation function, the accuracy of the CFHH method (which contains no adjustable parameters) for excited states is comparable to that of the ground state. The accuracy is also comparable to that of the most sophisticated variational calculations involving hundreds of variational parameters.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)7158-7164
Number of pages7
JournalPhysical Review A
Volume44
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - 1991
Externally publishedYes

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