On the ac magnetizability of a molecule

Abstract

We present a solution to a long-standing problem in molecular physics, namely a physically acceptable expression for the ac magnetizability of a molecule. To this end we apply general arguments based on spatial transformation properties, intrinsic symmetries, linearity, and the dc limit, to express the magnetizability in terms of a linear combination of molecular polarizability tensors of the relevant (electric octopole–magnetic quadrupole) multipole order. Explicit formulae are given in terms of components of these polarizabilities for molecules of various symmetries.