Test of the Pluvinage wave function for the helium ground state

Abstract

The accuracy of the Pluvinage wave function for the ground state of helium is investigated by considering a number of different physical processes including double ionization by photoabsorption, Compton scattering, and electron impact. In the high-energy limit of these processes, the accuracy of the initial ground state can be ascertained without reference to the final double-continuum state. In this limit, we find that a Hylleraas description is superior to the Pluvinage one. For intermediate energies, final-state correlation becomes important, so we employ a 3C description of the final state (the 3C wave function is the double-continuum analog of the Pluvinage wave function). In this case, however, better agreement with experiment is obtained with the Pluvinage initial state. A possible explanation for this seemingly paradoxical result is suggested.