Semiclassical calculations of the quadruple excited four-electron systems

Abstract

Highly excited atoms acquire very large dimensions and can be present only in a very rarified gas medium, such as the interstellar space. Multiply excited beryllium-like systems, when excited to large principal quantum numbers, have a radius of r ? 10 ?. We examine the semiclassical spectrum of quadruple highly excited four-electron atomic systems for the plane model of equivalent electrons. The energy of the system consists of rotational and vibrational modes within the almost circular orbit approximation, as used in a previous calculation for the triply excited three-electron systems. Here we present numerical results for the beryllium atom. The lifetimes of the semiclassical states are estimated via the corresponding Lyapunov exponents. The vibrational modes relative contribution to the energy levels rises with the degree of the Coulombic excitation. The relevance of the results is discussed both from the observational and heuristic point of view.