Structures and energetics of helium cluster cations: equilibrium geometries revisited through the genetic algorithm approach.

Equilibrium geometries and dissociation energies of He(N)(+) clusters have been calculated for N=3-35 using an extended genetic algorithm approach and a semiempirical model of intracluster interactions [P. J. Knowles, J. N. Murrell, and E. J. Hodge, Mol. Phys. 85, 243 (1995)]. A general aufbau principle is formulated for both ionic cores and neutral solvation shells, and the results are thoroughly compared with other theoretical data available for helium cluster cations in literature.