Mixed valence—Rydberg states

A survey of recent calculations involving the mixing of Rydberg and valence states in the spectra of molecular systems is undertaken. It is pointed out that when such states undergo curve crossings with one another, minimal energy splittings of 1.0–2.0 eV can occur at the respective 50-50 composition points. The significance of such large interactions between valence and low-lying Rydberg states is considered in terms of the properties of the resulting mixed CI states, particularly with reference to the oscillator strengths for the pertinent ground state transitions and also the spatial extension of the corresponding upper orbitals. It is thereupon argued that such mixings have important consequences in the spectra of a wide variety of systems, including those of O₂, ethylene and ethane.