Indirect Relativistic Effect on the5fElectrons in Uranium

Abstract

Hartree nonrelativistic atomic wave functions have been calculated for elements 89 through 98. The eigenvalues $\left|\mathcal{E}\right|$ of the $5f$ and $6d$ electrons in uranium were, respectively, 5.69 and 1.06 eV greater than those in the relativistic calculation by Cohen. The energy difference between the $5f$ and $6d$ eigenvalues is 4.6 eV greater in the nonrelativistic calculation. Since both the $5f$ and $6d$ bands are expected to be partially occupied in metallic uranium and neighboring elements, it is suggested that the results of solid-state calculations for the actinide elements using nonrelativistic crystal potentials will not be even qualitatively correct.