Continuum dielectric model for an electron in a nonpolar fluid

Abstract

A function expressing the electrostatic polarization energy experienced by an electron immersed in a nonpolar fluid is derived on the basis of classical electrostatics. A continuum dielectric model is used to represent the collective effect of the fluid molecules, which are assumed individually to possess spherical symmetry. The local electric field in the fluid is calculated from the sum of a cavity field and a dielectric reaction field. The model is parametrized by constants (the molecular electric dipole and quadrupole polarizabilities and the effective cavity radius presented by a molecule in the fluid), which for the example of argon can be determined from published literature data. The results obtained from the continuum model are compared with a recent theory dealing with the same question, but based on a model in which the molecules in the fluid are regarded as being discrete, and the local electric field is taken to be the traditional one due to Lorentz. (auth)