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Effect of the rotational motion of molecules on their optical and magneto‐optical activity
Author(s) -
Svendsen E. NØRby,
Hameka Hendrik F.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
international journal of quantum chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.484
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1097-461X
pISSN - 0020-7608
DOI - 10.1002/qua.560090505
Subject(s) - motion (physics) , rotation around a fixed axis , quantum , magneto optical , representation (politics) , physics , rotation (mathematics) , classical mechanics , magneto , quantum mechanics , mathematics , geometry , magnetic field , politics , political science , law , power (physics)
In the theoretical descriptions of natural and magneto‐optical activity it is customary to average classically over molecular orientations. We develop a theoretical description of the two phenomena that includes the correct quantum mechanical representation of the rotational motion in order to find out whether or not the customary procedure is correct. We find that the inclusion of the quantum mechanical description of the rotational motion leads to the same result in the theory of optical activity and magneto‐optical activity as the naive classical averaging over molecular orientations.