A simulation study of microwave field effects on a 3D orthorhombic lattice of rotating dipoles: short-range potential energy variation

Variation of the short-range potential energy of interaction of nearest dipoles in a three-dimensional (3D) orthorhombic lattice exposed to microwave electric fields is studied by means of the Langevin dynamics simulations. The global increase of the mean potential energy is typical for all the frequencies and intensities at lower temperatures, whereas separate potential energy peaks or peak chains are observed at intermediate temperatures. A simple statistical model proposed to account for the temperature dependence of the field intensity for potential energy peaks suggests the concerted collective rotation of the dipoles. The temperature dependence of the peak frequency is explained using a combination of the one-dimensional Kramers and the resonant activation theories applied to the field-driven collective rotation, with the nearly degenerate angular coordinates of the dipoles being used as a single effective coordinate.