The rotational kinetic energy in the orientationally disordered phase of solid methane. A quasi-classical approach

M. Sprik and N.J. Trappeniers

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 1981, vol. 105, issue 3, 417-444

Abstract: It is shown that, as a consequence of the orientational correlations, the quantum rotational kinetic energy of interacting molecules in the orientationally disordered phase of solid methane exceeds the free rotor value. The expectation value of kinetic energy is obtained from the initial terms of a quasiclassical high temperature expansion of the free energy. The calculation is based on an analytic function approximating the configuration representation of the statistical density operator of the free spherical top. It is demonstrated that in the classical limit the function tends asymptotically to the true density operator, the error being exponentially dependent on temperature. As an application, the quantum correction to the second moment of an infrared absorption band is estimated.

Date: 1981
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0378437181901047
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only. Journal offers the option of making the article available online on Science direct for a fee of $3,000

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:105:y:1981:i:3:p:417-444

DOI: 10.1016/0378-4371(81)90104-7

Access Statistics for this article

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications is currently edited by K. A. Dawson, J. O. Indekeu, H.E. Stanley and C. Tsallis

More articles in Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().