Electron states in metal clusters

Radiative transitions in metal clusters are analyzed in terms of quantum transitions of valence electrons that interact with surrounding valence electrons and ion cores. The analysis is based on the solution of the Thomas-Fermi equation for valence electrons in a spherical cluster. The quantum states of valence electrons and the energy and the dipole moments of transitions are determined in the quasiclassical approximation. It is shown that the frequencies of dipole oscillations and the dipole moments of the transitions strongly depend on the size of a cluster.