Asymptotic neutrality of diatomic molecules

We use the no-binding theorem of Thomas-Fermi theory to prove that a large diatomic molecule is almost neutral. That is to say, that if the total nuclear charge isZ then the numberN of electrons required for the diatomic molecule to be stable satisfies. In contrast to the atomic case the emphasis here is on the lower bound onN. Our analysis will imply a new bound on the size of the molecule. These results are proved in the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. We also give bounds onN which hold for allZ by a very elementary method, not assuming the Born-Oppenheimer approximation.Work supported by a Danish Research Academy fellowship and U.S. National Science Foundation grant PHY-85-15288-A03Adress from September 1989: Department of Mathematics, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 USA