Breit Interaction in Multielectron Atoms

Abstract

The Breit interaction is reviewed with applications to heavy atoms in mind. Generalizations of the Breit interaction which avoid expansion in powers of the electron velocities are discussed. Two-particle matrix elements of the Breit interaction and its generalizations are given in a form convenient for numerical applications. Expressions are derived for evaluating configuration-averaged atomic energy shifts for the Breit interaction and its generalizations. Numerical results for the energy shifts of atomic ground states are presented for selected atoms in the range $Z=2$ to $Z=102$; interpolated values of the energy shifts are given graphically for all atoms in the range considered. A breakdown of the interelectron contributions to the Breit energy shift is given for Ne and for $K$ electrons in Hg. "Frozenorbital" calculations of Breit corrections to electron binding energies in Hg are given. The binding of $K$ electrons in W, Hg, Pb, and Rn including the generalized Breit interaction with rearrangement are determined; when considered together with Lamb shift and correlation effects, these calculations reduce the discrepancy between theoretical and experimental $K$ binding energies to about 0.1 Ry.