Molecules with an Induced Dipole Moment in a Stochastic Electric Field

TL;DR

This paper investigates the decoherence of molecules with induced dipole moments in stochastic electric fields, revealing how their average dipole moments and angular momentum evolve under different solution approaches.

Contribution

It provides both perturbative and nonperturbative solutions for the mean-field dynamics of molecules in stochastic electric fields, highlighting differences in decay behavior.

Findings

Perturbative solutions show non-zero steady states along the deterministic field.

Nonperturbative solutions indicate decay to zero of the average dipole and angular momentum.

Contrasts with magnetic moment behavior in stochastic magnetic fields.

Abstract

The mean-field dynamics of a molecule with an induced dipole moment (e.g., a homonuclear diatomic molecule) in a deterministic and a stochastic (fluctuating) electric field is solved to obtain the decoherence properties of the system. The average (over fluctuations) electric dipole moment and average angular momentum as a function of time for a Gaussian white noise electric field are determined via perturbative and nonperturbative solutions in the fluctuating field. In the perturbative solution, the components of the average electric dipole moment and the average angular momentum along the deterministic electric field direction do not decay to zero, despite fluctuations in all three components of the electric field. This is in contrast to the decay of the average over fluctuations of a magnetic moment in a stochastic magnetic field with a Gaussian white noise magnetic field in all three components. In the nonperturbative solution, the component of the average electric dipole moment and the average angular momentum in the deterministic electric field direction also decay to zero.