Origin independent current density vector fields induced by time-dependent magnetic field. I. The LiH molecule

Abstract

The electronic current density, induced in a molecule by the optical magnetic field associated with a frequency-dependent monochromatic plane wave, assumed to be spatially uniform within the electric quadrupole approximation, has been studied by using a theoretical method based on a continuous translation of its origin. The induced electronic current density vector field designated by this procedure, invariant of the origin for any point of the molecular domain, is obtained via a computational scheme, formally annihilating the diamagnetic contribution of the conventional common-origin approach based on perturbation theory. In a preliminary application of the theoretical methods outlined in the present work, the simple molecule of lithium hydride has been investigated. Particular attention has been paid to the structure of induced electronic current density for several values of the magnetic field frequency by investigating equilibrium points of four different types, organized in stagnation lines, which constitute its stagnation graph, i.e., a topological fingerprint of the vector field conveying complete information in the condensed form, to verify the fulfillment of fundamental requirements, e.g., the continuity equation and the Poincaré–Hopf theorem on spherical and toroidal surfaces.