• Accepted Paper

Quantum theory of molecular orientation

Victor V. Albert, Eric Kubischta, Mikhail Lemeshko, and Lee R. Liu

Phys. Rev. A - Accepted 21 October, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/xffs-68n9

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.

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