Hulthén and slater type 2d functions in some excited configurations of sulphur and phosphorus

It is shown that a substantial energy improvement is gained by the variational use of Hulthén orbitals, instead of single Slater orbitals, in the 3d shells of some excited configurations of sulphur and phosphorus. The energies obtained are close to those attained with two-term Slater functions. In some cases the radial distribution functions from Hulthén orbitals are as good an approximation of SCF radial distributions as those from two-term Slater orbitals. Single term 2d functions with only one parameter are found to give almost identical energies and radial distribution functions as those obtained from two-parameter Hulthén orbitals. It is shown that the relationship between one-term 2d orbitals and Hulthén orbitals gives a method of enforcing nuclear cusp conditions on the former with little effect on the energy.