Crystal Field in Rare-Earth Trichlorides. II. Exchange Charge Effects in PrCl3

Abstract

The redistribution of charge due to overlap between the rare-earth ion 5s2p6 shell and the surrounding ligands and to overlap between neighboring ligands is shown to produce a large reduction in the electrostatic contributions to the crystal field. This correction brings the calculated value of A20〈r2〉 close to its experimental value in PrCl3.