Abstract

Two electron states may be divided into two classes. Those in which only one electron is excited, or in which when both are excited they have very different degrees of excitation, form a group distinct from those in which both electrons share comparable amounts of excitation. Particularly for the latter, an appropriate description is one which views the pair of electrons as a single entity from the start. Such states have been called "ridge states" and may be distinguished from the other group of states with disparate excitation by using the term "planetary states" for the latter. In this contribution, we take further steps in the evolving description of a basis for two-electron states in terms of the pair. Thereby we have a complementary description and basis to the independent particle picture.

© 1986 Optical Society of America