Three-body interactions involving clusters and films

The three body (triple dipole) interaction of Axilrod, Teller and Muto (ATM) contributes 5 to 10 % of the total energy of condensed phases of inert elements. It is shown in this paper for clusters and films that a much larger or smaller ATM contribution can arise for other geometries or other atomic species. The ratio R of the three body interaction energy to the two body energy is evaluated for a wide variety of configurations. This ratio varies considerably with the geometry. For highly polarizable atoms in certain geometries, the magnitude of the three body energy is comparable to that of the two body energy and can be either attractive or repulsive. Systematic trends are established and explained.