Investigation of the field dependence of magnetic fluids exhibiting aggregation

Anisotropic rotational diffusion and dielectric relaxation of rigid dipolar particles in a strong external dc field

Dielectric response functions of polar particles (macromolecules) diluted in a nonpolar solvent subjected to a strong external dc electric field are evaluated using the anisotropic noninertial rotational diffusion model. Simple analytic formulas for the longitudinal and transverse components of the dielectric susceptibility and relaxation times are given using the effective relaxation time method. These formulas are tested against numerical solutions of the underlying infinite hierarchy of differential-recurrence equations for statistical moments (ensemble averages of the Wigner D functions) which are obtained by averaging the governing Langevin equation for noninertial rotational Brownian motion over its realizations. The calculations, involving matrix continued fractions, ultimately yield the exact solution of the infinite hierarchy of differential-recurrence relations for the dielectric response functions. In the isotropic rotational diffusion limit, the solution reduces to the known results.

Fractional rotational diffusion of rigid dipoles in an asymmetrical double-well potential

The longitudinal and transverse components of the complex dielectric susceptibility tensor of an assembly of dipolar molecules rotating in an asymmetric double-well potential are evaluated using a fractional rotational diffusion equation (based on the diffusion limit of a fractal time random walk) for the distribution function of orientations of the molecules on the surface of the unit sphere. The calculation is the fractional analog of the Debye theory of orientational relaxation in the presence of external and mean field potentials (excluding inertial effects). Exact and approximate (based on the exponential separation for normal diffusion of the time scales of the intrawell and overbarrier relaxation processes associated with the bistable potential) solutions for the dielectric dispersion and absorption spectra are obtained. It is shown that a knowledge of the characteristic relaxation times for normal rotational diffusion is sufficient to predict accurately the anomalous dielectric relaxation behavior of the system for all time scales of interest. The model explains the anomalous (Cole-Cole-like) relaxation of complex dipolar systems, where the anomalous exponent differs from unity (corresponding to the normal dielectric relaxation), i.e., the relaxation process is characterized by a broad distribution of relaxation times (e.g., in glass-forming liquids).

Fractional rotational Brownian motion in a uniform dc external field

The longitudinal and transverse components of the complex dielectric susceptibility tensor of an assembly of dipolar particles subjected to a dc bias field are evaluated in the context of a fractional noninertial rotational diffusion model. Exact and approximate solutions for the dielectric dispersion and absorption spectra are obtained. It is shown that a knowledge of the effective relaxation times for normal rotational diffusion is sufficient to predict accurately the anomalous dielectric relaxation behavior of the system for all time scales of interest. Simple equations for the characteristic frequencies of the dielectric loss spectra are obtained in terms of the physical model parameters (dimensionless field and fractional exponent). The model explains the anomalous (Cole-Cole like) relaxation of complex dipolar systems, where the anomalous exponent differs from unity (corresponding to the normal dielectric relaxation), i.e., the relaxation process is characterized by a broad distribution of relaxation times.

Microscopic models for dielectric relaxation in disordered systems

It is shown how the Debye rotational diffusion model of dielectric relaxation of polar molecules (which may be described in microscopic fashion as the diffusion limit of a discrete time random walk on the surface of the unit sphere) may be extended to yield the empirical Havriliak-Negami (HN) equation of anomalous dielectric relaxation from a microscopic model based on a kinetic equation just as in the Debye model. This kinetic equation is obtained by means of a generalization of the noninertial Fokker-Planck equation of conventional Brownian motion (generally known as the Smoluchowski equation) to fractional kinetics governed by the HN relaxation mechanism. For the simple case of noninteracting dipoles it may be solved by Fourier transform techniques to yield the Green function and the complex dielectric susceptibility corresponding to the HN anomalous relaxation mechanism.