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The method of superposition of configurations is examined in its application to the helium atom in two cases: a 21×21 matrix including all configurations up to 〈6s〉2, and a 20×20 matrix with all configurations up to the 4-quantum level, including angular terms. A new radial limit is established at −2.87900±0.00003, and this is used to discuss the convergence of such expansions in Legendie functions. The variation with scale factor is discussed in detail. The wave functions are analyzed in terms of natural spin orbitals (NSO's), which seem to have many advantages. The first NSO bears a striking resemblance to the Hartree-Fock function, and the first two together provide a close approximation to the solution of the extended Hartree-Fock equations with different orbitals for different electrons. An energy of −2.877924 is obtained for the best (u, v) function found. An analysis of the results suggests that inner orbitals may be better represented by pure exponentials than by Hartree-Fock orbitals whenever additional correlational degrees of freedom are permitted. Expressed in approximate NSO form, the wave function is almost invariant to choice of basis set, provided that the latter is reasonably chosen. In particular, the necessity of including continuum terms along with the discrete hydrogen-like set is demonstrated.

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