Approximate Atomic Structure Calculations Using a Microcomputer

The principles behind several microcomputer programs that can be used to calculate a wide variety of atomic parameters that are useful in laser spectroscopy are discussed. The programs make use of optimized central potentials due to Talman. Among the calculations demonstrated here are the calculation of oscillator strengths for transitions, photoionization cross sections, energy eigenvalues, and two‐photon Rabi frequencies. Since a program is provided to calculate the Green’s function for the radial Schrödinger equation, other calculations involving multiple summations over intermediate states are also possible