page_title: Hydrogen spectral series
section_title: Physics
hierarchical_section_title: Hydrogen spectral series / Physics
caption_attribution_description: English: energy level diagram of electrons in hydrogen atom
context_page_description: The emission spectrum of atomic hydrogen has been divided into a number of spectral series, with wavelengths given by the Rydberg formula. These observed spectral lines are due to the electron making transitions between two energy levels in an atom. The classification of the series by the Rydberg formula was important in the development of quantum mechanics. The spectral series are important in astronomical spectroscopy for detecting the presence of hydrogen and calculating red shifts.
context_section_description: A hydrogen atom consists of an electron orbiting its nucleus. The electromagnetic force between the electron and the nuclear proton leads to a set of quantum states for the electron, each with its own energy. These states were visualized by the Bohr model of the hydrogen atom as being distinct orbits around the nucleus. Each energy state, or orbit, is designated by an integer, n as shown in the figure. The Bohr model was later replaced by quantum mechanics in which the electron occupies an atomic orbital rather than an orbit, but the allowed energy levels of the hydrogen atom remained the same as in the earlier theory.
  Spectral emission occurs when an electron transitions, or jumps, from a higher energy state to a lower energy state. To distinguish the two states, the lower energy state is commonly designated as n′, and the higher energy state is designated as n. The energy of an emitted photon corresponds to the energy difference between the two states. Because the energy of each state is fixed, the energy difference between them is fixed, and the transition will always produce a photon with the same energy.
  The spectral lines are grouped into series according to n′. Lines are named sequentially starting from the longest wavelength/lowest frequency of the series, using Greek letters within each series. For example, the 2 → 1 line is called "Lyman-alpha" (Ly-α), while the 7 → 3 line is called "Paschen-delta” (Pa-δ).
  There are emission lines from hydrogen that fall outside of these series, such as the 21 cm line. These emission lines correspond to much rarer atomic events such as hyperfine transitions. The fine structure also results in single spectral lines appearing as two or more closely grouped thinner lines, due to relativistic corrections.
  In quantum mechanical theory, the discrete spectrum of atomic emission was based on the Schrödinger equation, which is mainly devoted to the study of energy spectra of hydrogenlike atoms, whereas the time-dependent equivalent Heisenberg equation is convenient when studying an atom driven by an external electromagnetic wave.
  In the processes of absorption or emission of photons by an atom, the conservation laws hold for the whole isolated system, such as an atom plus a photon. Therefore the motion of the electron in the process of photon absorption or emission is always accompanied by motion of the nucleus, and, because the mass of the nucleus is always finite, the energy spectra of hydrogen-like atoms must depend on the nuclear mass. And since hydrogen atoms have a nucleus of only one proton, the spectrum energy of an hydrogen atom depends only by the nucleus (e.g. in the Coulomb field): in fact, the mass of one proton is ca  times the mass of an electron, which gives only the zero order of approximation and thus may be not taken into account.
caption: Energy level diagram of electrons in hydrogen atom
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