LONG-RANGE ATOMIC POTENTIALS IN THOMAS-FERMI THEORY

We prove that the interaction among neutral atoms in Thomas-Fermi theory behaves, for large separation l, like Γl-7. The constant Γ is independent of the atomic nuclear charges, but does depend on the relative positions of the nuclei. We also show that Π is not a simple sum of pair terms, i.e. in TF theory three and higher body terms persist into the asymptotic (in l) region. © 1979 Springer-Verlag.