Scalar static polarizabilities of lanthanides and actinides

We calculate scalar static polarizabilities for lanthanides and actinides, the atoms with open 4f or 5f subshells. We show that polarizabilities of the low states are approximately the same for all states of a given configuration, and we present a way of calculating them reducing valence space to just two or three valence electrons occupying 6s and 5d states for lanthanides or 7s and 6d states for actinides, while 4f and 5f states are considered to be in the core. The configuration interaction technique is used to calculate polarizabilities of lanthanides and actinides for all states of the 4f(n)6s(2) and 4f(n-1)6s(2)5d configurations of lanthanides and all states of the 5f(n)7s(2) and 5f (n-1)7s(2)6d configurations of actinides. Polarizability of the electron core (including f orbitals) has been calculated in the random-phase approximation.