English

Calculations of long-range three-body interactions for He($n_0\,^{\lambda}S$)-He($n_0\,^{\lambda}S$)-He($n_0^{\prime}\,^{\lambda}L$)

Atomic Physics 2018-04-25 v1

Abstract

We theoretically investigate long-range interactions between an excited LL state He atom and two identical SS state He atoms, for the cases of the three atoms all in spin singlet states or all in spin triplet states, denoted by He(n0λSn_0\,^{\lambda}S)-He(n0λSn_0\,^{\lambda}S)-He(n0λLn_0^{\prime}\,^{\lambda}L), with n0n_0 and n0n_0' principal quantum numbers, λ=1\lambda=1 or 3 the spin multiplicity, and LL the orbital angular momentum of a He atom. Using degenerate perturbation theory for the energies up to second-order, we evaluate the coefficients C3C_3 of the first order dipolar interactions and the coefficients C6C_6 and C8C_8 of the second order additive and nonadditive interactions. Both the dipolar and dispersion interaction coefficients, for these three-body degenerate systems, show dependences on the geometrical configurations of the three atoms. The nonadditive interactions start to appear in second-order. To demonstrate the results and for applications, the obtained coefficients CnC_n are evaluated with highly accurate variationally-generated nonrelativistic wave functions in Hylleraas coordinates for He(11S1\,^{1}S)-He(11S1\,^{1}S)-He(21S2\,^{1}S), He(11S){(1\,^{1}S)}-He(11S){(1\,^{1}S)}-He(21P){(2\,^{1}P)}, He(21S){(2\,^{1}S)}-He(21S){(2\,^{1}S)}-He(21P){(2\,^{1}P)}, and He(23S){(2\,^{3}S)}-He(23S){(2\,^{3}S)}-He(23P){(2\,^{3}P)}. The calculations are given for three like-nuclei for the cases of hypothetical infinite mass He nuclei, and of real finite mass 4^4{}He or 3^3{}He nuclei. The special cases of the three atoms in equilateral triangle configurations are explored in detail, and for the cases where one of the atoms is in a PP state, we also present results for the atoms in an isosceles right triangle configuration or in an equally spaced co-linear configuration. The results can be applied to construct potential energy surfaces for three helium atom systems.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1712.07584,
  title  = {Calculations of long-range three-body interactions for He($n_0\,^{\lambda}S$)-He($n_0\,^{\lambda}S$)-He($n_0^{\prime}\,^{\lambda}L$)},
  author = {Pei-Gen Yan and Li-Yan Tang and Zong-Chao Yan and James F Babb},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1712.07584},
  year   = {2018}
}

Comments

42 pages, 10 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1608.01098

R2 v1 2026-06-22T23:24:52.665Z