Atomic Static Electric Quadrupole Polarizability from Relativistic Many-Body Theory With Application To Thulium $\left(6s^{2}4f^{13}\right)$\, ${}^2{F}_{7/2}$ and ${}^2{F}_{5/2}$

Abstract

In the present work a method for calculating atomic static electric rank-$n$ tensor quadrupole polarizabilities ${\alpha }_Q^{(n)}(J)$ for arbitrary atomic electronic structure is presented. It is based on a linear-symmetry representation of atomic states using large-scale relativistic configuration interaction wavefunctions, and the quadrupole polarizabilities are obtained by a sum-over-states approach. The major result from applying this method to atomic thulium is ${\alpha }_Q^{(0)}(\frac{7}{2})=2496_{-231}^{+0}$ \au for the electronic ground term ${}^2{F}_{7/2}$ static electric scalar quadrupole polarizability which is roughly a factor of four smaller than same property in the electronic ground state of the cesium atom. This finding adds to the favorable properties of thulium atoms in atomic-clock research.

arXiv comment14 pages, no figures