Evidence from alkali-metal-atom transition probabilities for a phenomenological atomic supersymmetry

Abstract

We review the proposal that relationships between physical spectra of certain atoms can be considered as evidence for a phenomenological supersymmetry. Next, a comparison is made between the supersymmetric and the hydrogenic approximations. We then present the calculation of low-Z alkali-metal-atom transition probabilities between low-n states, using supersymmetric wave functions. These probabilities agree more closely with accepted values than do those obtained with use of the hydrogenic approximation. This shows that, in simple radial Schrödinger theory, supersymmetry is a concept providing insight into the true, fermionic, many-body physics of these atoms.