The Rydberg states of trans-butadiene from generalized valence bond and configuration interaction calculations

Self-consistent ab initio generalized valence bond (GVB) and configuration interaction (Cl) calculations are presented for the Rydberg states of trans-1,3-butadiene. Five Rydberg series were identified, three optically allowed (np, np, and nf_z³) and two optically forbidden (ns and nd_z²). It is shown that, except for the Λ ∼ and F - bands (which correspond to the non-valence 1 ¹B_u and the valence 2 ¹A_g states, respectively) all the transitions observed in the ultra-violet (UV) and electron-impact (EI) spectra, and in the two-photon spectra, can be assigned to members of these Rydberg series.