Short-range interaction between hydrogen molecules

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Abstract
Recent calculations of the ground-state energy of a system of four hydrogen atoms are reviewed from the point of view of discerning the short-range interaction potential between two hydrogen molecules. Consistency amongst the results of these calculations suggests that the potential for intermolecular separations in the region 1-2.5 ÅA can now be specified to about 10% with considerable confidence. Analytic fits to spherical averages of these results are presented. For calculations of properties of high-density solid molecular hydrogen, the bare pair potential may thus be regarded as well determined. The role of multicenter terms can then be examined; as for example, recent reported work seems to indicate that pairwise additivity is not altogether valid in practice.