CX. The spatial correlation of electrons in atoms and molecules : II—Two-electron systems in excited states

Abstract

This paper extends the treatment of the ground state of helium and similar two-electron systems, given in Part I. to excited states which are not spherically symmetric. The wave function is expanded in a series of surface harmonics, the coefficients being functions of the radial distances. Symmetry considerations and the angular momentum operators are used to simplify the problem and a set of coupled equations for the radial functions are then given. This general theory is exact. In the final section it is used to discuss the effect of the exclusion principle on angular correlation in atomic P-states and is applied to excited states of beryllium.