Exchange Energy on Alkali Diatomic Molecules: Period Effects

The exchange energy in the long-range near-dissociation region is analyzed for the ground electronic states of homo- and heteronuclear alkali diatomic molecules. The analysis is based on the use of the functional form Ae-ar to represent this exchange term. A period effect is observed in the values of both parameters and the exponent parameter a appears to approach an asymptotic limit for the heavier molecules. The results obtained in this study also suggest that some care must be taken in using even this function to represent the exchange energy. Copyright 1997 Academic Press. Copyright 1997Academic Press