Positron Binding and Annihilation in Alkane Molecules

A model-potential approach has been developed to study positron interactions with molecules. Binding energies and annihilation rates are calculated for positron bound states with a range of alkane molecules, including rings and isomers. The calculated binding energies are in good agreement with experimental data, and the existence of a second bound state for n-alkanes (CnH2n+2) with n ≥ 12 is predicted in accord with experiment. The annihilation rate for the ground positron bound state scales linearly with the square root of the binding energy.