Relativistic perturbation-theory calculations for actinide atoms and ions

Actinide atoms and ions present challenges to atomic theory calculations due to a large number of electrons and their complicated interactions. Conventional approaches such as calculations based on Cowan’s code are limited and require a large number of parameters for energy agreement. One promising approach is relativistic configuration-interaction and many-body perturbation theory (CI-MBPT) methods. We will present CI-MBPT results for various uranium and plutonium atoms and ions. Among atomic properties, energies, g-factors, electric dipole moments, lifetimes, hyperfine structure constants, and isotopic shifts will be discussed. While some progress is made, more work is needed for better understanding these challenging atomic systems.