Dielectric relaxation in weakly ergodic dilute dipole systems

We introduce a method for calculating dipole correlations in systems containing hopping processes exhibiting weak ergodicity breaking. Modeled after the original Kirkwood-Fröhlich theory, the new method provides a bridge extending Fröhlich's insights from the realm of rigid dipoles into weakly non-ergodic fluctuating virtual dipolar entities. Relevant for the investigation of any system containing transport processes, it provides a testable parameter derived primarily from the static dielectric parameters. Three examples of systems including porous silicon, porous glass, and ferroelectric crystals are brought to demonstrate the model's versatility, including direct confirmation of Fröhlich's original idea.