Convergence criteria for the Hartree iterative solution of the general self-consistent field equations

The traditional Hartree method of solving the Hartree-Fock equations, by repeated diagonalization and recalculation of the single-particle Hamiltonian, is expressed in terms of repeated unitary transformations and shown to be applicable to the general SCF (self-consistent field) equations. The necessary and sufficient conditions for convergence to a unique local SCF solution are derived and it is shown that only a small class of solutions are obtainable by this method.