Electronic structure of Rf^+ (Z = 104) from ab initio calculations

Abstract

We report calculation of the energy spectrum and the spectroscopic properties of the superheavy element ion: Rf^+. We use the 4-component relativistic Dirac-Coulomb Hamiltonian and the multireference configuration interaction (MRCI) model to tackle the complex electronic structure problem that combines strong relativistic effects and electron correlation. We determine the energies of the ground and the low-lying excited states of Rf+, which originate from the 7s^26d^1, 7s^16d^2, 7s^27p^1, and 7s^16d^17p^1 configurations. The results are discussed vis-\`a-vis the lighter homologue, Hf^+ ion. We also assess the uncertainties of the predicted energy levels. The main purpose of the presented calculations is to provide a reliable prediction of the energy levels and to identify suitable metastable excited states that are good candidates for the planned ion-mobility-assisted laser spectroscopy studies.