The multi-configuration Dirac-Fock calculation of the low-lying levels of Sm

Abstract:

The excitation energies and hyper-fine structure constants of the low-lying levels of Sm atom are calculated using the multi-configuration Dirac-Fock (MCDF) method. The results show that the excitation energies of the ground state multiplets can be calculated accurately using a small orbital set but the higher levels need larger orbital sets. Similar inference can also be drawn from the discrepancy between the calculated values of the hyper-fine constants and the experimental data. A sequence of MCDF calculation demonstrates the effect of the MCDF potential on the orbitals. Among the rare earth atoms Sm is a promising candidate for discrete symmetry violation experiments in atoms. This makes accurate theoretical calculations necessary since parameters in particle physics can be derived by combining the experimental results with the theoretical results. And these could be a probe for the physics beyond the standard model.