Static anisotropic and isotropic electric dipole polarizabilities of Na n F n-1 clusters

Recently, electric susceptibilities of Na_nF_n-1 clusters have been measured by deflecting a molecular beam in an inhomogeneous electric field. The analysis of the deflection of a cluster by the electric field needs the calculation of the electric properties. We present the calculation of the static anisotropic and average dipolar polarizabilities within a model in which the Na_nF_n-1 clusters ( 2 n 23) are treated as one electron embedded in the field of n ions Na⁺ and of n - 1 ions F^-. The accuracy of the results is evaluated and discussed on small clusters (n 5) in comparison with ab initio calculations. The relationship between the polarizabilities, the electronic localization and the geometric structure is discussed. Received 10 September 2002 Published online 3 July 2003