Article révisé par les pairs
Résumé : The ground-state electron energies, the mass correction and mass polarization of low and multiply charged helium-like ions are analytically and numerically calculated. Approximately 3500 different kinds of ions with charge Z = 2 ÷ 118 are considered. The two-electron Schrödinger equation was solved using a discrete variational-perturbation approach developed by the authors and based on explicitly correlated wave functions. This approach takes into account the motion of the nucleus and yields accurate values for the electron characteristics. The results are presented with and without the inclusion of the mass polarization in the minimization procedure. The relative importance of mass correlations and relativistic effects in the formation of the electron energy characteristics of the helium-like ions are studied for different values ofZ. The role of the inclusion of the mass polarization in the minimization procedure as an instrument to present and take into account the effects induced by the nuclear properties, structure and characteristics has been shown.