On the topography of electron momentum densities of linear molecules

Abstract

A topographical study of the electron momentum density (EMD) of some linear molecules is presented with special emphasis on the bond-directionality principle. A new approach to the bond-directionality (BD) principle has been proposed. This is based on the analysis of curvatures of critical points at p = 0 and elsewhere on the bonding axis. The linear molecules are classified into three broad categories: those which fully obey or disobey the BD principle as well as those which satisfy it only partly. The Laplacian of the EMD at p = 0 has been associated with the quality of the wavefunction via the electron density in the tail region. Also, the similarity in the critical structure of both the EMD and the spherically averaged EMD at the origin is brought out.