2015/02/13 by Burkhard Schmidt, Břetislav Friedrich, Bretislav Friedrich
Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Chemical Physics Studies #Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications #Quantum chaos and dynamical systems
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreva.91.022111
openalex publication_date 2015/02/13 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We undertook a mutually complementary analytic and computational study of the full-fledged spherical (three-dimensional) quantum rotor subject to combined orienting and aligning interactions, corresponding to a linear polar and polarizable molecule interacting with an electric field. The orienting and aligning interactions are characterized, respectively, by dimensionless parameters \ensuremathη and \ensuremathζ. By making use of supersymmetric quantum mechanics, we found two sets of conditions (cases A and B) under which the problem of a spherical quantum pendulum becomes analytically solvable. These conditions coincide with the loci \ensuremathζ=\frac\ensuremathη24k2 of the intersections of the eigenenergy surfaces spanned by the \ensuremathη and \ensuremathζ parameters. In case A, the topological index k=\ensuremath∓m+1 with m the angular momentum projection quantum number, whereas, in case B, k=1, independent of m. These findings have repercussions for rotational spectra and dynamics of molecules subject to combined permanent and induced dipole interactions.