Born-Huggins-Meyer potential

The Born-Huggins-Meyer potential (although looking at the authors/publications perhaps it would be more precisely known as the Born-Meyer-Huggins potential) is given by

\[\Phi_{12}(r) = A \exp \left[ B(\sigma - r) \right] - \frac{C}{r^6} - \frac{D}{r^8} \]

where

• \(r := |\mathbf{r}_1 - \mathbf{r}_2|\)
• \( \Phi_{12}(r) \) is the intermolecular pair potential between two particles or sites
• \( \sigma \) is the diameter (length), i.e. the value of \(r\) at which \( \Phi_{12}(r)=0\)

The first term is an exponential repulsion, followed by dipole-dipole and dipole-quadrupole dispersion terms. This potential is often augmented with a Coulombic interaction.

This potential is often used to study alkali halides.