Convergence of multipole expanded intermolecular interaction energies for Gaussian-type-function and Slater-type-function basis sets

 It is shown that the multipole expansion of each order of the polarization series converges for large enough intermolecular distances when finite basis sets of Gaussian or Slater-type functions are used to approximate molecular response properties. Convergence of the multipole expansion for each order of the polarization series does not imply convergence of the polarization series itself. A corresponding convergence condition is extracted from the general perturbation theory in a finite-dimensional space and is applied to the H + H⁺ problem. Received: 29 September 1999 / Accepted: 22 May 2000 / Published online: 18 August 2000