Abstract
The static and dynamic electric dipole, quadrupole, and octupole polarizabilities of the alkaline-earth atoms (beryllium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, and barium) in the ground state were calculated. The dynamic polarizabilities obtained were used to calculate the van der Waals coefficients C 6, C 8, and C 10 of alkaline-earth metal dimers for the interaction of two like atoms in the ground state. The results are compared with other theoretical and experimental data.