The local electric field in anisotropic molecular crystals

Abstract

A general expression for the local field in anisotropic crystals is derived and applied to crystals of iodoform, benzene, naphthalene, anthracene, bi-phenyl and phenanthrene. The principal refractive indices of anisotropic crystals are related to components of an effective molecular polarizability tensor via anisotropic Lorenz-Lorentz equations. These are solved for the aforementioned crystals, and it is found that the polarizabilities of these molecules in anisotropic crystals differ substantially from those measured in isotropic solutions.