Measurements of the average electric dipole polarizabilities of the alkali dimers

Abstract
The average electric dipole polarizabilities of the homonuclear alkali dimers have been measured in an electric deflection experiment. The molecular results are normalized to the corresponding atomic polarizabilities by comparing deflections of atomic and molecular alkali beams passing through an inhomogenous electrostatic field. The average polarizabilities in units of 10−24 cm3 are: Li2(990°K), 34±3; Na2(736°K), 30±3; K2(569°K), 61±5; Rb2(534°K), 68±7; Cs2(515°K), 91±7.