On the application of statistical mechanics to diatomic molecules

Abstract

We argue that the results proposed recently for the $\mathrm{a}^3\Sigma_u^+$ electronic state of $^7\mathrm{Li}_2$ do not exhibit any physical utility because the canonical vibrational partition function for an excited electronic state makes no sense according to the principles of statistical mechanics. Such an approach may, in principle, be applied to the ground state of a diatomic molecule. We show that the simpler model based on the harmonic oscillator and rigid rotor enables one to derive a theoretical expression for the equilibrium constant of a simple chemical reaction that agrees remarkably well with experimental data. It is not clear whether the complicated formulas mentioned above are suitable for any comparison with experimental data.