On the theory of dielectric relaxation

Abstract

The Kirkwood expression for the static dielectric constant of a polar substance is extended to non-zero frequencies by a means which avoids the introduction of spherical specimens and the connection between the dipoledipole correlation functions of distinct spatial regions. The procedure is based on a previously derived relation between the dynamic dielectric constant and the current-current susceptibility and on the use of the Callen-Welton theorem to relate the susceptibility to fluctuations. Surface effects are eliminated at the outset by consideration of media which are infinite in extent. A general relation between the long-range dipole-dipole correlations (which fall off as the inverse cube of the distance) and short-range correlations in a specimen composed of non-polarizable molecules is found from a consistency relation. It is shown that the two microscopic relaxation times which result from the existence of but one relaxation time in the dielectric constant correspond to the transverse and longitudinal relaxation times with the longitudinal time being screened relative to the transverse time by the static dielectric constant.