Fine Structure of Open Shell Diatomic Molecules in Combined Electric and Magnetic Fields

TL;DR

This paper theoretically investigates how combined electric and magnetic fields influence the rotational dynamics and fine-structure interactions of open shell diatomic molecules, revealing the potential to induce spin-rotation couplings.

Contribution

It provides a detailed theoretical analysis of the effects of combined fields on diatomic molecules, including the interplay of various interactions and the possibility of controlling spin-rotation couplings.

Findings

Identification of dominant interactions under different field regimes

Demonstration of induced couplings between spin and rotational degrees of freedom

Analysis across multiple molecule-specific parameters

Abstract

We present a theoretical study of the impact of an electric field combined with a magnetic field on the rotational dynamics of open shell diatomic molecules. Within the rigid rotor approximation, we solve the time-independent Schr\"odinger equation including the fine-structure interactions and the \Lambda-doubling effects. We consider three sets of molecule specific parameters and several field regimes and investigate the interplay between the different interactions identifying the dominant one. The possibility of inducing couplings between the spin and rotational degrees of freedom is demonstrated.