Self-consistent relativistic density-functional theory: Application to neutral uranium atom and some ions of lithium isoelectronic sequence

In a relativistic density-functional theory the importance of the transverse photon contribution to the exchange potential in the high-density regime is pointed out. A neutral atom ⁹²U is studied and its orbital energies calculated in the present scheme are compared with previous calculations based on relativistic Hartree, Dirac-Slater, and Dirac-Fock schemes and with experimental values from (electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis) ESCA studies. The present scheme is also used to calculate the orbital and total energies of some highly stripped ions of the Li isoelectronic sequence which occur as impurities in controlled thermonuclear plasma. These energies are found to be in close agreement with more involved Dirac-Fock results. Also, the relativistic effects significantly increase in going from C³⁺ to W⁷¹⁺ because the electronic density reaches values for which relativistic effects become large.