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H2+ embedded in a Debye plasma: Electronic and vibrational properties

The effect of plasma screening on the electronic and vibrational properties of the H2+ molecular ion was analyzed within the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. When a molecule is embedded in a plasma, the plasma screens the electrostatic interactions. This screening is accounted for in the Schrödinger equation by replacing the Coulomb potentials with Yukawa potentials that incorporate the Debye length as a screening parameter. Variational expansions in confocal elliptical coordinates were used to calculate energies of the 1ssg and the 2psu states over a range of Debye lengths and bond distances. When the Debye length is comparable to the equilibrium bond distance, the plasma screening reshapes the potential energy curve. Expectation values, dipole polarizabilities and spectroscopic constants were calculated for the 1ssg state.