Abstract
A multipole expansion procedure is given for obtaining collision‐induced atomic dipole moments from the molecular moments of a pair of atoms in a collision governed by the Pauli exclusion principle. Atomic moments are reported for He, Ne, Ar, and H, as determined from homonuclear diatomic wave functions. These are combined, via the distortion model of Smith [Phys. Rev. A 5, 1708 (1972)], to obtain molecular dipole moments for the heteronuclear collision pairs. The molecular dipole moments are in fair agreement with results of molecular orbital calculations. Limitations and extensions of the procedure are discussed.