From Majorana theory of atomic autoionization to Feshbach resonances in high temperature superconductors

Abstract

The Ettore Majorana paper - Theory of incomplete P triplets- published in 1931, focuses on the role of selection rules for the non-radiative decay of two electron excitations in atomic spectra, involving the configuration interaction between discrete and continuum channels. This work is a key step for understanding the 1935 work of Ugo Fano on the asymmetric lineshape of two electron excitations and the 1958 Herman Feshbach paper on the shape resonances in nuclear scattering arising from configuration interaction between many different scattering channels. The Feshbach resonances are today of high scientific interest in many different fields and in particular for ultracold gases and high Tc superconductivity.