Abstract
A computationally convenient expression for the exact anisotropic tripledipole (DDD) dispersion energy for interactions involving linear (Σ state) molecules is developed. The input data required for its evaluation are the isotropic and anisotropic dipole oscillator strengths, and excitation energies, for the interacting species. The anisotropy of the DDD energy for three-body molecular systems is investigated, relative to that from a frequently used average energy expression for DDD, using interactions involving H2, Ne and N2 as examples.