Statistical field theory for polar fluids

Abstract

Using a variational field-theoretic approach, we derive a theory for polar fluids. The theory naturally accounts for the reaction field without resorting to the cavity construct and leads to a simple formula for the dielectric constant in terms of the molecular dipole moment and density. We apply our formula to calculate the dielectric constants of nonpolarizable liquid models for more than a hundred small molecules without using any adjustable parameters. Our formula predicts dielectric constants of these nonpolarizable liquid models more accurately than the Onsager theory and previous field-theoretic dielectric theories, as demonstrated by the closer agreement to the simulation results. The general theory also yields the free energy, which can describe the response of polar fluids under applied electric fields.