Stephen, My understanding is that Rydberg hydrogen is highly excited hydrogen - it is just below an energy that the hydrogen would be ionized. In fact, small energy inputs to hydrogen in a Rydberg state will ionize it. As I understand the orbitals for Rydberg state hydrogen they are huge diameter flattened ellipsoids. Because of this, it is not too far off to consider it like a Bohr model. In Rydberg Matter (RM), all of the atoms have an electron in a large flattened ellipsoid shape which now loops some of the other nuclei in the RM to hold it together. RM naturally forms as a large planar "snowflake", but can easily be warped in a field gradient. RM is well characterized from its rotational spectrum.
OTOH, the ultra-dense form is nearly pure imagination at this point, based on very slim data. If an ultra-dense form happens, how could it be formed from high energy matter like RM? Normally the very small is only achieved when substantial energy is removed from the system. On Wed, May 11, 2016 at 10:26 AM, Stephen Cooke <[email protected]> wrote: > Has anyone looked at RM from the point of view of quantum mechanical > electron orbitals? If so could you help me understand some crazy thoughts > and questions I have about it ? > > I understand Rydberg hydrogen matter typically forms from excited hydrogen > atoms in some way. > > Most literature seems to represent the electron orbits in Rydberg Hydrogen > in a classical Bohr electron shell representation. > > What is the case in the quantum mechanical model? Are the electrons > excited to particular states such as S2 or P2 orbitals? I suppose the > electrons are more easily excited to P2 from the S1 orbital if excited by > photon absorption for example. > > Does the type of RM depend on the type of orbitals the electrons are in? > For example using Holmlid definitions is a S2 more likely to form H(1) type > RM and P2 more likely to form H(0). Naively looking at the dumbbell shape > of P2 orbitals does this allow closer approach of the nuclei than say S2 > with its spherical orbital? > > I think it's not so straight forward though as I think in Holmlid's recent > paper he mentions the orbital angular momentum (l) in each state. > Particular electron orbital types have particular orbitals. S orbitals have > l=0, P orbitals have l=1 etc. however he mentions that H(0) and D(0) have > l=0 and H(1) and D(1) have l>0. This is the opposite than I suggested above > suggesting that in fact the S orbitals allow the more compact configuration > of RM and P and other Orbital types can form normal RM. > > On another matter are the orbitals themselves affected in the dense form > of H(0) bearing in mind the very close spacing if the nuclei a few pm > compared to the normal S1 orbital radius? Also does the vortex nature of > the close combinations of atomic pairs into threads impact the electron > orbitals? > > >
