For an atom, an orbital with principal quantum number greater than that of any occupied
orbital of the
ground state. For a molecular entity, a
molecular orbital which correlates with a Rydberg atomic orbital in an atomic fragment produced by
dissociation. Typically, the extension of the Rydberg orbital is large compared to the size of
the atom or molecular entity.
Source:
PAC, 1996, 68, 2223
(Glossary of terms used in photochemistry (IUPAC Recommendations 1996))
on page 2272