GAUSSIAN FIELD MODEL OF DIELECTRIC SOLVATION DYNAMICS

Extending the Gaussian model of salvation (Chandler, D. Phys. Rev. E 1 993, 48, 2898) to dynamics, we focus specifically an the problem of di electric relaxation. In the Gaussian model, the solvent is described i n terms of a linear responding field that is expelled from the volume occupied by the solute. The excluded volume affects the normal modes o f the system, thereby playing a significant role in solvation dynamics . Even in the context of dielectric continuum theory, the excluded vol ume affects the polarization response outside that volume. We show tha t this effect can be analyzed generally and analytically.