Electronic structure, field-induced magnetization density and neutron magnetic form factor of palladium

The magnetic field induced magnetization density and neutron magnetic form factor of Pd metal is obtained from an ab initio APW energy band study of its electronic structure and properties. The magnetization consists of the spin density calculated for states on the Fermi surface and a much smaller orbital contribution. The solid state wavefunctions are found to yield a spatial localization of the spin density which is greater than that of the very contracted Hartree-Fock density of the free Pd²⁺ ion. The theretical magnetic form factor, which is dominated by the contribution of the fifth band, is found to be in excellent agreement with the measurements of Cable, Wollan, Felcher, Brun and Hornfeldt.