Dynamic polarizabilities of two-electron atoms, with rigorous upper and lower bounds

Methods are described for calculating rigorous upper and lower bounds to dynamic dipole polarizabilities for frequencies up to and beyond the first excitation threshold, even when (as usual) the field-free problem cannot be solved exactly. These methods were employed to calculate rigorous bounds to the dynamic polarizabilities of the two-electron atoms H(-), He, and Li(+), using well correlated trial wavefunctions up to 135 terms in length. The majority of previous theoretical and experimental results for these atoms can thereby be ruled out, including the highly precise Starkschall-Gordon values, which had heretofore appeared to be the most accurate available.