The quoted expansion is nondegenerate perturbation theory for a known isolated eigenstate of a time-independent Hamiltonian. A useful small-mixing condition is for coupled states. First order is a diagonal expectation value; second order describes virtual mixing. A degenerate or nearly degenerate coupled subspace must first be treated by diagonalization there. Symmetry can eliminate terms, and convergence still needs checking. Ground-state second-order shifts are nonpositive because all denominators are negative.[ref]
Quantum Mechanics by Richard Fitzpatrick. Non-degenerate perturbation theory and its breakdown at coupled degeneracies
For the rotational Stark effect, , where is the polar angle to the field. The source calls it azimuthal, which is inconsistent with this coupling. Rotor states have parity , while is odd, so every first-order matrix element within one fixed- manifold vanishes. The degeneracy therefore causes no first-order splitting.
Only with the same contribute in second order. Using their energy differences and ,For this simplifies to the quadratic Stark shift of a polar linear rotor,For , only contributes, with squared angular matrix element and denominator :Here is the rotational energy constant, unlike the magnetic field in Question3.
The unperturbed line gives . The shifts are for and for . Subtracting the common lower-state shift gives transition shifts and . Their separation determines the dipole moment from a rotational Stark doublet:The unit is the debye. Using external and gives , consistent with weak-field perturbation theory. The two shifted frequencies are about and ; polarization selects or . The inferred value is a magnitude; these shifts do not determine the dipole's sign.[ref]
CODATA recommended values of the fundamental physical constants: 2022 by National Institute of Standards and Technology. Exact SI Planck constant
[ref]Triatomic Spectral Database by National Institute of Standards and Technology. Section5: debye conversion
Opposite-parity mixing produces quadratic rotor shifts and a polarization-dependent rotational doublet
. Source. Details. The inferred dipole moment is approximately . With the static field parallel to the radiation electric field, the microwave selection rule is . A fully resolved three-component first-order rotational Stark effect pattern naturally identifies the , transition: the three initial values give the three components. would have no first-order shift.
Subtract the lower-state field shift from the upper-state field shift, rather than equating a transition shift to one level's shift:For and , neighbouring components are separated by . HenceThis assignment assumes the stated splitting resolves all allowed first-order components, rather than three accidentally unresolved groups of a higher- transition.
Rotational polarizability outside the weak-field regime Created 2026-10-20 Updated 2026-11-05
The quadratic rotational Stark effect is a small-field expansion, rather than a response law valid at every field. For a polar linear rigid rotor with rotational constant in energy units and permanent electric dipole moment , a static field gives the Hamiltonian operatorThe dimensionless ratio measures competition between rotation and orientation. Once it is not small, the field mixes many field-free angular momentum eigenstates, so diagonalizing the fixed-magnetic quantum number matrix replaces a truncated second-order correction. Increasing the basis cutoff tests numerical convergence.
For a differentiable nondegenerate eigenvalue , the Hellmann–Feynman theorem gives the mean dipole component . Its magnitude cannot exceed . Continuing the weak-field linear induced-dipole formula indefinitely would violate this bound. Strongly oriented low-lying pendular states instead describe restricted angular motion about the field direction.[ref]
Spatial orientation of molecules in strong electric fields and evidence for pendular states by Bretislav Friedrich and Dudley R. Herschbach. abstract: rotational cooling, orientation and pendular states
