Bound and Continuum Properties of Lathanide and Actinide Anions and Atoms

Michigan Technological University, Houghton MI

Investigators

Abstract

Lightly ionized medium to high-Z atoms have been little studied theoretically, because they require the simultaneous inclusion of relativity and correlation. For the latter, the presence of open d and/or f subshell electrons makes obtaining accurate computational results quite challenging. These species, which constitute over half the periodic table, are technologically important in catalysis, advanced lighting sources, atomic clocks, nuclear waste, semi-conductor defects, rare-earth magnets, high temperature superconductors, hydrogen energy storage, plasma fusion devices, astrophysics, etc. The negative ions are particularly challenging to both the theorist and experimenter. The research will continue calculations on the aforementioned bound state systems and extend the work to treat continuum properties such as photoionization and the energies and widths of resonances.