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Question: Answered & Verified by Expert
Positronium is just like a $\mathrm{H}$-atom with the proton replaced by the positively charged anti-particle of the electron (called the positron which is as massive as the electron). What would be the ground state energy of positronium?
PhysicsAtomic Physics
Solution:
2663 Upvotes Verified Answer
The total energy of the electron in the stationary states of the hydrogen atom is given by
$$
\mathrm{E}_{\mathrm{n}}=-\frac{m \mathrm{e}^4}{8 \mathrm{n}^2 \varepsilon_0^2 \mathrm{~h}^2}=(-13.6) \mathrm{eV} \quad[\text { if } \mathrm{n}=1]
$$
where signs are as usual and the $m$ that occurs in the Bohr formula is the reduced mass of electron and proton in hydrogen atom, the total energy of the electron in the ground state of the hydrogen atom is $-13.6 \mathrm{eV}$. For $\mathrm{H}-$ atom reduced mass $\mathrm{m}_{\mathrm{e}}$. Whereas for positronium, the reduced mass is
$$
\begin{aligned}
&\mathrm{m} \approx \frac{\mathrm{m}_{\mathrm{e}}}{2}, \text { by putting } \mathrm{m} \text { value in En, } \\
&\mathrm{E}_{\mathrm{n}}=\left(\frac{\left(\frac{-m e}{2}\right) \mathrm{e}^4}{8 \mathrm{n}^2 \varepsilon_0^2 \mathrm{~h}^2}\right)
\end{aligned}
$$
Hence, the total energy of the electron in the ground state of the positronium atom is
$$
\mathrm{E}_{\mathrm{n}}^{\prime}=\frac{-13.6 \mathrm{eV}}{2}=-6.8 \mathrm{eV}(\text { at }, \mathrm{n}=1)
$$

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