Reaction field approach

Gray C G, Sainger Y S, Joslin C G, Cummings P T and Goldman S 1986 Computer simulation of dipolar fluids. Dependence of the dielectric constant on system size a comparative study of Ewald sum and reaction field approaches J. Chem. Phys. 85 1502-4... 

In the quantum mechanical continuum model, the solute is embedded in a cavity while the solvent, treated as a continuous medium having the same dielectric constant as the bulk liquid, is incorporated in the solute Hamiltonian as a perturbation. In this reaction field approach, which has its origin in Onsager s work, the bulk medium is polarized by the solute molecules and subsequently back-polarizes the solute, etc. The continuum approach has been criticized for its neglect of the molecular structure of the solvent. Also, the higher-order moments of the charge distribution, which in general are not included in the calculations, may have important effects on the results. Another important limitation of the early implementations of this method was the lack of a realistic representation of the cavity form and size in relation to the shape of the solute. 

An alternative reaction-field approach to the calculation of molecular electronic... 

F. J. Luque, M. Orozco, P. K. Bhadane and S. R. Gadre, Effect of solvation on the shapes, sizes, and anisotropies of polyatomic anions via molecular electrostatic potential topography An ab initio self-consistent reaction field approach, J. Chem. Phys., 100 (1994) 6718-6726. 

THE DISCRETE REACTION FIELD APPROACH FOR CALCULATING SOLVENT EFFECTS... 

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