Finite-size effects and the stabilized spin-polarized jellium model for metal clusters

Abstract

In the framework of spherical geometry for jellium and local spin density approximation, we have obtained the equilibrium rs values, r̄s(N,ζ), of neutral and singly ionized “generic” N-electron clusters for their various spin polarizations, ζ. Our results reveal that r̄s(N,ζ) as a function of ζ behaves differently depending on whether N corresponds to a closed-shell or an open-shell cluster. That is, for a closed-shell one, r̄s(N,ζ) is an increasing function of ζ over the whole range 0⩽ζ⩽1, and for an open-shell one, it has a decreasing part corresponding to the range 0<ζ⩽ζ0, where ζ0 is a polarization that the cluster assumes in a configuration consistent with Hund’s first rule. In the context of the stabilized spin-polarized jellium model, our calculations based on these equilibrium rs values, r̄s(N,ζ), show that instead of the maximum spin compensation (MSC) rule, Hund’s first rule governs the minimum-energy configuration. We therefore conclude that the increasing behavior of the equilibrium rs values over the whole range of ζ is a necessary condition for obtaining the MSC rule for the minimum-energy configuration; and the only way to end up with an increasing behavior over the whole range of ζ is to break the spherical geometry of the jellium background. This is the reason why the results based on simple jellium with spheroidal or ellipsoidal geometries show up MSC rule.