Benchmark calculations of ro-vibrational spectrum of HeH⁻ and its isotopologues

Benchmark variational calculations of the Born–Oppenheimer potential energy curve (PEC) performed with explicitly correlated all-electron Gaussian functions with shifted centers are presented. The PEC energies include the leading relativistic and quantum-electrodynamics corrections and the first-order corrections due to adiabatic effects. The PEC is used to calculate the ro-vibrational spectra for HeH⁻ and its isotopologues. The results show that these systems are marginally stable and have two to four bound vibrational levels and, for each vibrational level, a few bound rotational levels lying below the dissociation threshold. This indicates a possibility of detecting the HeH⁻ anion in the laboratory and, perhaps, even in the interstellar space. (paper)