The N2–N2 potential energy surface

Extensive ab initio calculations of the N2–N2 interaction energy have been performed to define its anisotropic behavior with respect to molecular orientation. Additional calibration calculations with larger basis sets have been used to improve the theoretical energies at small separation distances and have been combined with experimental data for the second virial coefficient (including the results of the more recent second acoustic measurements) to determine a realistic rigid-rotor potential energy surface for the van der Waals region.