The history of Rydberg states in atoms and molecules will be briefly summarized. If the ground state of a molecular system is unstable (as for example two He atoms) while most excited states are stable Rydberg states, we may describe the system as a Rydberg molecule. The simplest diatomic example is the $He_{2}$ molecule, while the simplest polyatomic system would be the $H_{3}$ molecule discovered only in 1979. In recent years many other examples have been studied and will be briefly summarized.The history of Rydberg states in atoms and molecules will be briefly summarized. If the ground state of a molecular system is unstable (as for example two He atoms) while most excited states are stable Rydberg states, we may describe the system as a Rydberg molecule. The simplest diatomic example is the $He_{2}$ molecule, while the simplest polyatomic system would be the $H_{3}$ molecule discovered only in 1979. In recent years many other examples have been studied and will be briefly summarized.

Jan 1, 19940 citations

He_{2}

molecule, while the simplest polyatomic system would be the

H_{3}

molecule discovered only in 1979. In recent years many other examples have been studied and will be briefly summarized.