Theory of dielectric relaxation of rigid polar fluids

Abstract

In order to obtain quantitative and unambiguous information on molecular relaxation from dielectric measurements, a number of theoretical issues must be resolved. In this article three of the principal issues are discussed: (1) the relation of the measured dielectric constant to molecular time correlation functions; (2) the relation of the many-particle polarization correlation functions which arise in the theory to single-particle orientation correlation functions which are of primary interest; and (3) the ability of dielectric measurements to resolve different models of single-particle reorientation dynamics.