Electron and exciton states in solid rare gases

Energy band calculations of the solid rare gases Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe and calculations of the conduction band density of states of Kr and Xe are presented. Except for Ne the calculations are based on the relativistic formulation of the Green's function method. Exciton states of the valence Γ‐excitons in Ar, Kr, and Xe have been computed using the pseudopotential formalism of the exciton problem proposed by Hermanson and Phillips and on the basis of the calculated energy bands. The dependence of the exciton binding energies on certain band parameters has been studied. The results are discussed in connection with the optical spectra of the solid rare gases measured by Baldini and the DESY group.