The systems of volume-localized electron quantum levels of charged fullerenes.

The existence of a system of short-lived, discrete, volume-localized electron quantum levels in positively charged fullerenes is theoretically and numerically demonstrated using the example of fullerenes C-60 and C-20. Unlike experimentally and theoretically well-studied electron states localized in a thin surface layer, these electron states are due to the flat part of the Coulomb potential of a positively charged fullerene sphere. The energy width of the system of such discrete volume-localized levels depends on the charge and increases with increasing charge. For C-60(+1), the energy width is 0.16a.u. and increases up to 0.9a.u. for fullerene C-60(+10). Thus, the electrons captured on these discrete levels of fullerene form a sort of short-lived superheavy nanoatom or nanoion, in which the electrons are localized inside a positively charged spherical nucleus with an atomic mass of 240a.u. for C-20 and 720a.u. for C-60. Numerous published papers have demonstrated theoretically and experimentally the existence of metastable positively charged C-60 fullerenes with a charge of +10 or more, which suggests the possibility of experimental observation of the considering system of volume-localized electronic states. In conclusion, questions are discussed and estimates are made of the possibility of generating coherent radiation at these transitions.