The potential energy surface for the electronic ground state of the CO2 mol
ecule was optimized by using the self-consistent field-configuration intera
ction method and involving the 49 observed vibrational energy levels below
20 000 cm(-1). The root-mean-square error of this fitting is 1.50 cm(-1). T
he rovibrational energy levels for the Sigma and Pi vibrational states are
calculated to test the refined potential.