Isotope shift on the chlorine electron affinity revisited by an MCHF/CI approach

TL;DR

This paper revisits the isotope shift on chlorine's electron affinity using an advanced MCHF/CI computational approach to resolve previous discrepancies between theory and experiment.

Contribution

It introduces a refined multiconfiguration Hartree-Fock and configuration interaction method to accurately calculate isotope shifts on chlorine's electron affinity.

Findings

Resolved longstanding discrepancy in specific mass shift calculations

Enhanced understanding of correlation effects in negative ions

Improved theoretical agreement with experimental data

Abstract

Today, the electron affinity is experimentally well known for most of the elements and is a useful guideline for developing ab initio computational methods. However, the measurements of isotope shifts on the electron affinity are limited by both resolution and sensitivity. In this context, theory eventually contributes to the knowledge and understanding of atomic structures, even though correlation plays a dominant role in negative ions properties and, particularly, in the calculation of the specific mass shift contribution. The present study solves the longstanding discrepancy between calculated and measured specific mass shifts on the electron affinity of chlorine (Phys. Rev. A 51 (1995) 231)