Calculations of the binding-energy differences for highly-charged Ho and Dy ions

Abstract

The binding-energy differences for $^{163}\mathrm{Ho}^{q+}$ and $^{163}\mathrm{Dy}^{q+}$ ions with ionization degrees $q = 38$, $39$, and $40$ are calculated. The calculations are performed using the large-scale relativistic configuration-interaction and relativistic coupled-clusters methods. The contributions from quantum-electrodynamics, nuclear-recoil, and frequency-dependent Breit-interaction effects are taken into account. The final uncertainty does not exceed $1$ eV. Combining the obtained results with the binding-energy difference for neutral atoms calculated in [Savelyev et al., Phys. Rev. A 105, 012806 (2022)], we get the secondary differences of the ion-atom binding energies. These values can be used to evaluate the amount of energy released in the electron capture process in $^{163}\mathrm{Ho}$ atom (the $Q$ value), provided mass differences of highly charged ions $^{163}\mathrm{Ho}^{q+}$ and $^{163}\mathrm{Dy}^{q+}$ is known from experiment. The $Q$ value is required by experiments on the determination of the absolute scale of the electron neutrino mass by studying the beta-decay process.