Effect of the Nuclear Charge Distribution on Total Energies

Effect of the Nuclear Charge Distribution on Total Energies 

In section 6.9 we already introduced finite-size models of the atomic nucleus and analyzed their effect on the eigenstates of the Dirac hydrogen atom. This analysis has been extended in the previous sections to the many-electron case. It turned out that neither the electron-electron interaction potential functions nor the inhomogeneities affect the short-range behavior of the shell functions already obtained for the one-electron case. Table 9.5 now provides the total electronic energies calculated for the hydrogen atom and some neutral many-electron atoms obtained for different nuclear potentials provided by Visscher and Dyall [439], who also provided a list of recommended finite-nucleus model parameters recommended for use in calculations in order to make computed results comparable. 

As can be seen from the table, the effect on the total energy is notable when switching from the singular potential of a point nucleus to a finite-nucleus potential. The finite-nucleus potentials, however, not differ very much. Most important is the effect on relative energies. Here we may note that the effect 

Excellent monographs on atomic structure theory are available. The material presented in the preceding section is, however, self-contained and by and large complementary to what is presented in the following list of monographs. 

Relativistic Quantum Theory of Atoms and Molecules — Theory and Computation. 

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