Quantum theory of molecular orientations
Abstract
We formulate a quantum phase space for rotational and nuclear-spin states of rigid molecules. For each nuclear spin isomer, we re-derive the isomer's admissible angular momentum states from molecular geometry and nuclear-spin data, introduce its angular position states using quantization theory, and develop a generalized Fourier transform converting between the two. We classify molecules into three types -- asymmetric, rotationally symmetric, and perrotationally symmetric -- with the last type having no macroscopic analogue due to nuclear-spin statistics constraints. We discuss two general features in perrotationally symmetric state spaces that are Hamiltonian-independent and induced solely by symmetry and spin statistics. First, we quantify when and how an isomer's state space is completely rotation-spin entangled, meaning that it does not admit any separable states. Second, we identify isomers whose position states house an internal pseudo-spin or "fiber" degree of freedom, and the fiber's Berry phase or matrix after adiabatic changes in position yields naturally robust operations, akin to braiding anyonic quasiparticles or realizing fault-tolerant quantum gates. We outline how the fiber can be used as a quantum error-correcting code and discuss scenarios where these features can be experimentally probed
Cite
@article{arxiv.2403.04572,
title = {Quantum theory of molecular orientations},
author = {Victor V. Albert and Eric Kubischta and Mikhail Lemeshko and Lee R. Liu},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2403.04572},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
11 + 39 pages, 10 figures, 6 tables, 50 examples; v4 edits to experimental proposals