Experiments confirm the existence of 1-micrometer-sized molecules made of two cesium atoms by showing that their binding energies agree with predictions.
A variational calculation is performed for the (3He)4 system interacting pairwise through the Lennard-Jones He–He potential. Use of an integrodifferential Euler equation is made to determine an optimum wave function, leading to results showing that the existence of this molecule is unlikely. It is confirmed that states of the system with nonzero orbital angular momentum yield lower energies. Also, it appears that the number of 3He atoms needed to form self-bound molecules must be larger than 5.
The resonance interaction that takes place in planar nanochannels between pairs of excited-state atoms is explored. We consider interactions in channels of silica, zinc oxide, and gold. The nanosized channels induce a dramatically different interaction from that in free space. Illustrative calculations for two lithium and cesium atoms demonstrate that there is a short-range repulsion followed by long-range attraction. The binding energy is strongest near the surfaces. The size of the enlarged molecule is biggest at the center of the cavity and increases with channel width. Since the interaction is generic, we predict that enlarged molecules are formed in porous structures, and that the molecule size depends on the size of the nanochannels.