Positron binding to alkali-metal hydrides: The role of molecular vibrations

Abstract

The bound vibrational levels for $J=0$ have been computed for the series of alkali-metal hydride molecules from LiH to RbH, including NaH and KH. For all four molecules the corresponding potential-energy curves have been obtained for each isolated species and for its positron-bound complex $({e}^{+}X\mathrm{H})$. It is found that the calculated positron affinity values strongly depend on the molecular vibrational state for which they are obtained and invariably increase as the molecular vibrational energy content increases. The consequences of our findings on the likelihood of possibly detecting such weakly bound species are briefly discussed.