Energies for the high- L rydberg states of helium: Asymptotic analysis

The asymptotic expansion method based on a core polarization potential for the Rydberg electron is reviewed and extended to the high angular momentum states of helium up to L=15. A comparison with recent large-scale configuration interaction calculations for the nonrelativistic energies shows that there is good agreement for L=7, but there are serious systematic disagreements for the states of higher angular momentum. A possible explanation is that there is an important class of configurations missing from the CI calculations. © 2009 The American Physical Society