Properties of Molecular Rydberg States

Many of the bands in the vapor-phase far-ultraviolet absorption spectra of simple molecules can often be fit to mathematical progressions referred to as molecular Rydberg series. The name Rydberg arises from the similarity between the Rydberg formula for the atomic hydrogen spectrum and the formulae for the progressions found in molecular spectra. The theories of molecular Rydberg transitions and states are discussed in terms of the inferences that have been made in the past from the available spectral data. The dipole moment changes (ca. 0.4 Debye units) from the ground state to all of the Rydberg states studied were found to be smaller than changes typically found in transitions of charge-transfer nature (ca. 1 Debye unit). The implication is that the Rydberg transitions are fairly localized. The changes in polarizability are on the order of 6 x 10⁻²⁴ cm³ and are assumed to be increases over those of the ground state.