Approximate solutions to the one-particle Dirac equation: numerical results

The zero-, first-, and second-order differential equations in a previously defined hierarchy of equations giving approximate solutions to the one-particle Dirac equation and the corresponding eigenvalue contributions are each written as power series in α, the fine structure constant, for an arbitrary, spherically symmetric potential. These equations are solved numerically for the hydrogen-atom potential to obtain wave functions to order α2 and eigenvalues to order α4 for all states with n = 1–4, inclusive. The numerical solutions are then used to evaluate a number of matrix elements to order α2. A comparison with the exact expressions shows that the numerical values for the coefficients of the different powers of α have at least six significant figures in the eigenfunctions and eigenvalues and five in the matrix elements. Thus, the procedure is validated and can be applied with confidence to other atomic systems.