On the ac magnetizability of a molecule

Abstract

We present a solution to a long-standing problem in molecular physics, namely a physically acceptable expression for the ac magnetizability of a molecule. To this end we apply general arguments based on spatial transformation properties, intrinsic symmetries, linearity, and the dc limit, to express the magnetizability in terms of a linear combination of molecular polarizability tensors of the relevant (electric octopole–magnetic quadrupole) multipole order. Explicit formulae are given in terms of components of these polarizabilities for molecules of various symmetries.

Keywords:

• Ac magnetizability
• Multipole theory
• Spatial properties

Acknowledgement

The authors thank Professor Clive Graham for helpful discussions.