Branch point singularities in the energy of the delta-function model of one-electron diatoms

Two different perturbation series (the polarization expansion and a united-atom expansion) of the ground state energy of the delta-function model for one-electron diatoms are studied and the radii of convergence are determined. For both expansions the singularity in the energy which limits the radius of convergence is a branch point with exponent one-half. The physical significance of the branch point is that for particular values of the perturbation parameter, two different energy eigenvalues coalesce. The positions of the branch points are computed as a function of the internuclear separation R. For all values of R, both series converge for all physical values of the perturbation parameters. A lower bound to the radius of convergence of the polarization expansion has been computed previously by Claverie. It is proved in the present paper that the lower bound calculation is in fact an exact determination of the radius of convergence. The results of the model study are applied to real one-electron diatoms to suggest the possible location of a branch point singularity in the energy of the ground state.