An energy gap in the spectrum of atomic excitations systems

Abstract

It is shown that atoms in the system can be treated as quantum particles localized in potential wells, created by atomic potentials of neighboring atoms. As a result, the state of atoms in the liquid is characterized by wave functions and the discrete energy spectrum resulting in formation of s and p - zones corresponding to the ground and excited states of helium atoms, respectively, separated by a gap. The width of the gap in system equals ~8.5 K at T=0. Formation of the gap in the energy spectrum of atomic excitations in helium systems allows us to draw the analogy between the physical mechanisms of superfluidity and classical superconductivity.