Efimov States for 4 He Trimers?

4 pags. ; 2 figs. ; 1 tab.Helium trimer bound states are calculated with a variational method described in terms of pair atom coordinates and distributed Gaussian functions by assuming zero total angular momentum. With the two-body interaction potential used, a weakly bound state for the dimer and only two bound states for the trimer are found. Although strictly speaking the first excited trimer state is not an Efimov state, we show that this state presents several characteristics of the Efimov behavior which are extensively discussed in the present work. Special emphasis is placed on the main geometrical configurations contributing to the two bound trimer states, and suggestions are made on the possible ways of experimentally detecting the Efimov-type state.This work has been supported in part by DGICYT (Spain) under Contract No. PB95-0071, by the SpanishCuban Project between CSIC and Agencia de Ciencia y Tecnologia Cubana, by an E. C. Research Network with Contract N0. FMRX-CT96-0088, and by a COST Chemistry Project.Peer reviewe