The Ionization Conjecture in Hartree-Fock Theory

TL;DR

This paper proves the ionization conjecture in Hartree-Fock theory, showing that atomic ionization properties and size remain bounded even as nuclear charge increases infinitely.

Contribution

It establishes the boundedness of ionization charge, ionization energy, and atomic radius in Hartree-Fock theory as nuclear charge tends to infinity.

Findings

Maximal negative ionization charge remains bounded

Ionization energy remains bounded

Atomic radius is bounded independently of nuclear charge

Abstract

We prove the ionization conjecture within the Hartree-Fock theory of atoms. More precisely, we prove that, if the nuclear charge is allowed to tend to infinity, the maximal negative ionization charge and the ionization energy of atoms nevertheless remain bounded. Moreover, we show that in Hartree-Fock theory the radius of an atom (properly defined) is bounded independently of its nuclear charge.