INFLUENCE OF A STRONG MAGNETIC-FIELD ON THE CHEMICAL-BOND OF THE EXCITED H-2(+) ION

The excited electronic states with the magnetic quantum numbers 4 less than or equal to\m\less than or equal to 10 of the hydrogen molecular ion are investigated. In the field-free case the lowest electronic st ates with \m\greater than or equal to 5 possess purely repulsive poten tial-energy curves and are, therefore, unbound. In the presence of a s trong magnetic field the shape of these electronic states changes dras tically For parallel internuclear and magnetic-field axes we observe w ell-pronounced potential wells that contain many vibrational states; t he corresponding electronic states are, therefore, strongly bound. The coupling of the electronic degrees of freedom to the ionic center-of- mass motion is estimated.