An optimized algebraic basis for molecular potentials

The computation of vibrational spectra of diatomic molecules through the exact diagonalization of algebraically determined matrices based on powers of Morse coordinates is made substantially more efficient by choosing a properly adapted quantum mechanical basis, specifically tuned to the molecular potential. A substantial improvement is achieved while still retaining the full advantage of the simplicity and numerical light-weightedness of an algebraic approach. In the scheme we propose, the basis is parametrized by two quantities which can be adjusted to best suit the molecular potential through a simple minimization procedure.