Inclusion of Relativistic Effects in Electronic Structure Calculations

Abstract

The effects of relativity on atomic and molecular structure are discussed with an indication of their importance as a function of atomic number. Perturbation methods for the inclusion of relativistic effects are briefly analysed in terms of the Dirac equation; the multi-configuration Dirac-Fock method for the variational treatment of relativistic effects is then discussed in more detail. Finally, a case study on 2p ionisation in Ca is presented, in which higher-order relativistic effects are important.