ARE THE BADER LAPLACIAN AND THE BOHM QUANTUM POTENTIAL EQUIVALENT

The de Broglie-Bohm ontological interpretation of quantum theory clari fies the understanding of many otherwise counter-intuitive quantum mec hanical phenomena. We report here on an application of Bohm's quantum potential to the bonding and reactivity of small molecules. In quantum chemistry, Bader has shown that the topology of the Laplacian of the electronic charge density characterizes many features of molecular str ucture and reactivity. Examination of ab initio solutions for several small molecules suggests that the Laplacian of Bader and the quantum p otential of Bohm are morphologically equivalent. (C) 1997 Elsevier Sci ence B.V.