A theoretical study of the dynamics of paramagnetic superrotors in external magnetic fields

TL;DR

This paper provides a comprehensive theoretical analysis of how oxygen molecules in high rotational states behave under external magnetic fields, revealing complex dynamics driven by spin interactions and precession effects.

Contribution

It introduces analytical expressions for precession frequencies and a numerical procedure to model oxygen superrotors in magnetic fields, advancing understanding of their magneto-rotational behavior.

Findings

Magneto-rotational effects are due to spin-mediated precession.

Angular distribution splits and rotational inversion observed.

Analytical formulas for precession frequency derived.

Abstract

We present a detailed theoretical study of oxygen molecules in high rotational states (molecular superrotors) interacting with an external magnetic field. The system shows rich dynamics, ranging from a spin-selective splitting of the angular distribution over molecular alignment to an inversion of the rotational direction. We find that the observed magneto-rotational effects are due to a spin-mediated precession of the orbital angular momentum around the magnetic field. Analytical expressions for the precession frequency in the limits of weak and strong magnetic fields are derived and used to support the proposed mechanism. In addition, we provide the procedure for a numerical treatment of oxygen superrotors in an external magnetic field.