Semiempirical fine-tuning for Hartree–Fock ionization potentials of atomic ions with non-integral atomic number

Amovilli and March (2006) [8] used diffusion quantum Monte Carlo techniques to calculate the non-relativistic ionization potential I(Z)$I(Z)$ in He-like atomic ions for the range of (fractional) nuclear charges Z   lying between the known critical value _Zc=0.911$Z_{\mathrm{c}}=0.911$ at which I(Z)$I(Z)$ tends to zero and Z=2$Z=2$. They showed that it is possible to fit I(Z)$I(Z)$ to a simple quadratic expression. Following that idea, we present here a semiempirical fine-tuning of Hartree–Fock ionization potentials for the isoelectronic series of He, Be, Ne, Mg and Ar-like atomic ions that leads to excellent estimations of _Zc$Z_{\mathrm{c}}$ for these series. The empirical information involved is experimental ionization and electron affinity data. It is clearly demonstrated that Hartree–Fock theory provides an excellent starting point for determining I(Z)$I(Z)$ for these series.