The orbital moment in NiO

The orbital and spin moment of the Ni2+ ion in NiO has been calculated within the quasi-atomic approach. The orbital moment of 0.54 mB amounts at 0 K, in the magnetically-ordered state, to more than 20% of the total moment (2.53 mB). For this outcome, being in nice agreement with the recent experimental finding taking into account the spin-orbit coupling is indispensable.