From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The term quantum defect can refer to two things:
- The quantum defect of a laser is the part of the energy of the pumping photon, which is lost (not turned into photons at the lasing wavelength) in the gain medium at the lasing. At given frequency
of pump and given frequency 
of lasing, the quantum defect 
.
- The quantum defect of a Rydberg atom is a correction applied to the equations governing Rydberg atom behavior to reflect the fact that the inner electrons do not entirely screen their associated charge in the nucleus.
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