Abstract
Electronic momentum distributions and Compton profiles have been calculated from minimum basis set SCF wavefunctions for H
2O, H
2O
2, CO, CO
2 and H
2CO. Radial distributions and profiles have also been estimated for these molecules from localized molecular orbitals. The results suggest that (a) the height of the Compton peak,
<p
−1>
, may be as sensitive to the effects of chemical bonding as the kinetic energy,
<p
2>
/2, and that (b) the virial theorem may provide a more useful criterion than energy minimization in assessing the accuracy of calculated bonding effects and Compton profiles.