Density-Functional-Theory Calculations of Matter in Strong Magnetic Fields: I. Atoms and Molecules

dc.creatorMedin, Zach
dc.creatorLai, Dong
dc.date2006-07-10
dc.date2007-01-05
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T11:25:46Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T11:25:46Z
dc.descriptionWe present new ab initio calculations of the electronic structure of various atoms and molecules in strong magnetic fields ranging from B=10^12 G to 2x10^15 G, appropriate for radio pulsars and magnetars. For these field strengths, the magnetic forces on the electrons dominate over the Coulomb forces, and to a good approximation the electrons are confined to the ground Landau level. Our calculations are based on the density functional theory, and use a local magnetic exchange-correlation function which is tested to be reliable in the strong field regime. Numerical results of the ground-state energies are given for H_N (up to N=10), He_N (up to N=8), C_N (up to N=5) and Fe_N (up to N=3), as well as for various ionized atoms. Fitting formulae for the B-dependence of the energies are also given. In general, as N increases, the binding energy per atom in a molecule, |E_N|/N, increases and approaches a constant value. For all the field strengths considered in this paper, hydrogen, helium, and carbon molecules are found to be bound relative to individual atoms (although for B less than a few x 10^12 G, the relative binding between C and C_2 is small). Iron molecules are not bound at B<10^13 G, but become energetically more favorable than individual atoms at larger field strengths.
dc.description19 pages, 4 figures. Minor changes, figure omissions. Phys. Rev. A in press
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0607166
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0607166
dc.identifierPhys.Rev.A74:062507,2006
dc.identifierdoi:10.1103/PhysRevA.74.062507
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/195615
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titleDensity-Functional-Theory Calculations of Matter in Strong Magnetic Fields: I. Atoms and Molecules
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