Large charge fluctuations in classical Coulomb systems

The typical fluctuation of the net electric chargeQ contained in a subregion of an infinitely extended equilibrium Coulomb system is expected to grow only as S, whereS is the surface area of. For some cases it has been previously shown thatQ/S has a Gaussian distribution as ¦¦. Here we study the probability law for larger charge fluctuations (large-deviation problem). We discuss the case when both ¦¦ andQ are large, but now withQ of an order larger than S. For a given value ofQ, the dominant microscopic configurations are assumed to be those associated with the formation of a double electrical layer along the surface of. The probability law forQ is then determined by the free energy of the double electrical layer. In the case of a one-component plasma, this free energy can be computed, for large enoughQ, by macroscopic electrostatics. There are solvable two-dimensional models for which exact microscopic calculations can be done, providing more complete results in these cases. A variety of behaviors of the probability law are exhibited.     

Equilibrium properties of classical systems with long-range forces. BBGKY equation,neutrality, screening,and sum rules

We introduce a generalization of the BBGKY equation to define the equilibrium states for systems with long-range forces and study the properties of such states. We show that there are properties typical of short-range forces (shape independence, normal fluctuations, asymptotic behavior of correlation functions) and others which are typical of long-range forces (possible shape dependence, neutrality, sum rules and screening, abnormal fluctuations, boundedness of the internal electric field). If the force decreases at infinity faster than the Coulomb force, the properties will be those typical of short-range forces; on the other hand, if the force decreases at infinity as the Coulomb force or slower, the properties will be those typical of long-range forces.     

On potential and field fluctuations in classical charged systems

Using electrostatic identities the potential and microfield in a plasma, important for determining line shapes, are expressed as limits of local quantities. These are shown to be well defined for typical configurations of macroscopic, i.e., infinite systems (under some mild clustering assumptions). Their covariance contains a slowly decaying part (¦x¦^–1, for the potential) whose coefficient is universal whenever the Stillinger-Lovett second moment condition holds. We show further that the contributions from distant regions (which are equal to suitable averages over local regions) have a Gaussian distribution.Supported in part by AFOSR Grant No. 82-0016.Supported in part by the Swiss National Foundation for Scientific Research.     

Equilibrium equations and symmetries of classical Coulomb systems

In this paper we establish the validity of the BBGKY equilibrium equations for Coulomb states which have been obtained as thermodynamic limit of finite volume states. We also give a new derivation of thel-sum rules for phases constructed by the cluster expansion. These sum rules are interpreted as Ward identities associated to a symmetry of the screening phase.Supported by the Swiss National Foundation for Scientific Research.     

On potential and field fluctuations in two-dimensional classical charged systems

We supplement a previous paper on three-dimensional systems by studying the electric potential and field fluctuations in two-dimensional Coulomb systems. The novelty in two dimensions is that the fluctuations of the potential at a point are infinite in the thermodynamic limit. However, the potential difference between two points has finite fluctuations, which resemble the ones which occur in the three-dimensional case. The field fluctuations are also rather similar in both cases. The correlations do not have a fast decay. Explicit results are obtained for a solvable model; the fluctuations of the potential are Gaussian with an infinite variance.This laboratory is associated with the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.     

Charge Fluctuations in Finite Coulomb Systems

When described in a grand canonical ensemble, a finite Coulomb system exhibits charge fluctuations. These fluctuations are studied in the case of a classical (i.e., non-quantum) system with no macroscopic average charge. Assuming the validity of macroscopic electrostatics gives, on a three-dimensional finite large conductor of volume V, a mean square charge Q ² which goes as V ^1/3. More generally, in a short-circuited capacitor of capacitance C, made of two conductors, the mean square charge on one conductor is Q ²=TC, where T is the temperature and C the capacitance of the capacitor. The case of only one conductor in a grand canonical ensemble is obtained by removing the other conductor to infinity. The general formula is checked in the weak-coupling (Debye–Hückel) limit for a spherical capacitor. For two-dimensional Coulomb systems (with logarithmic interactions), there are exactly solvable models which reveal that, in some cases, macroscopic electrostatics is not applicable even for large conductors. This is when the charge fluctuations involve only a small number of particles. The mean square charge on one two-dimensional system alone, in the grand canonical ensemble, is expected to be, at most, one squared elementary charge.     

Thermodynamic Properties of the Two-Dimensional Coulomb Gas in the Low-Density Limit

The model under consideration is the two-dimensional Coulomb gas of ± charged hard disks with diameter . For the case of pointlike charges (=0), the system is stable against collapse of positive-negative pairs of charges in the range of inverse temperatures 0<2, where its full exact thermodynamics was obtained recently. In the present work, we derive the leading correction to the exact thermodynamics of pointlike charges due to presence of the hard core which enables us to extend the treatment beyond the collapse point =2. Our results, which are conjectured to be exact in the low-density limit in the interval 0<3, reproduce correctly the singularities of thermodynamic quantities at the collapse point and agree well with Monte-Carlo simulations. The subtraction mechanism within the ansatz proposed by M. E. Fisher et al. [J. Stat. Phys. 79:1 (1995)], which excludes the existence of intermediate phases between the collapse point =2 and the Kosterlitz–Thouless transition point _KT=4, is confirmed, however, a different analytic structure of this ansatz is suggested.     

Guest Charge and Potential Fluctuations in Two-Dimensional Classical Coulomb Systems

A known generalization of the Stillinger-Lovett sum rule for a guest charge immersed in a two-dimensional one-component plasma (the second moment of the screening cloud around this guest charge) is more simply retrieved, just by using the BGY hierarchy for a mixture of several species; the zeroth moment of the excess density around a guest charge immersed in a two-component plasma is also obtained. The moments of the electric potential are related to the excess chemical potential of a guest charge; explicit results are obtained in several special cases. Unité Mixte de Recherche No. 8627—CNRS.     

Universality in some classical Coulomb systems of restricted dimension

Coulomb systems in which the particles interact through thed-dimensional Coulomb potential but are confined in a flat manifold of dimensiond–1 are considered. The actual Coulomb potential acting is defined by particular boundary conditions involving a characteristic macroscopic distanceW in the direction perpendicular to the manifold: either it is periodic of periodW in that direction, or it vanishes on one ideal conductor wall parallel to the manifold at a distanceW from it, or it vanishes on two parallel walls at a distanceW from each other with the manifold equidistant from them. Under the assumptions that classical equilibrium statistical mechanics is applicable and that the system has the macroscopic properties of a conductor, it is shown that the suitably smoothed charge correlation function is universal, and that the free energy and the grand potential have universal dependences onW (universal means independent of the microscopic detail). The casesd=2 are discussed in detail, and the generic results are checked on an exactly solvable model. The cased=3 of a plane parallel to an ideal conductor is also explicitly worked out.Laboratoire associé au Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique-URA D0063.     

Classical Coulomb systems near a plane wall. II

The equilibrium structure of classical Coulomb systems bounded by a plane hard wall is studied near that wall. A general sum rule is derived for the asymptotic form of the charge-charge correlation function along the wall. The exact results which can be obtained for the two-dimensional one-component plasma provide a test for this new sum rule, as well as for other already known sum rules or their generalizations.This laboratory is associated with the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.     

On the two-dimensional Coulomb gas

This is a sequel to a recent work of Gaudin, who studied the classical equilibrium statistical mechanics of the two-dimensional Coulomb gas on a lattice at a special value of the coupling constant such that the model is exactly solvable. This model is briefly reviewed, and it is shown that the correlation functions obey the sum rules that characterize a conductive phase. A related model in which the particles are constrained to move on an array of equidistant parallel lines has simpler mathematics, and the asymptotic behavior of its correlation functions is studied in some detail. In the low-density limit, the lattice model is expected to have the same properties as a system of charged, hard disks; the correlation functions, internal energy, and specific heat of the latter are discussed.this laboratory is associated with the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique     

Classical Coulomb systems: Screening and correlations revisited

From the laws of macroscopic electrostatics of conductors (in particular, the existence of screening), taken as given, one can deduce universal properties for the thermal fluctuations in a classical Coulomb system at equilibrium. The universality is especially apparent in the long-range correlations of the electrical potentials and fields. The charge fluctuations are derived from the field fluctuations. This is a convenient way to study the surface charge fluctuations on a conductor with boundaries. Explicit results are given for simple geometries. The potentials and the fields have Gaussian fluctuations, except for a short-distance cutoff.laboratory associated with the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.     

Charge Correlations in a Coulomb System Along a Plane Wall: A Relation Between Asymptotic Behavior and Dipole Moment

Classical Coulomb systems at equilibrium, bounded by a plane dielectric wall, are studied. A general two-point charge correlation function is considered. Valid for any fixed position of one of the points, a new relation is found between the algebraic tail of the correlation function along the wall and the dipole moment of that function. The relation is tested first in the weak-coupling (Debye–Hückel) limit, and afterwards, for the special case of a plain hard wall, on the exactly solvable two-dimensional two-component plasma at coupling =2, and on the two-dimensional one-component plasma at an arbitrary even integer .     

A complementary thermodynamic limit for classical Coulomb matter

The canonical equilibrium measure of classical two-component Coulomb matter with regularized interactions is analyzed in a finite volume. It is shown that, in the mean-field regime, the one-particle density is inhomogeneous on a new characteristic length scale _inh. For a system ofN positive andN negative particles, _inh and the characteristic length scale of correlations _corr (=Debye screening length) are related via _inh=(2N)^1/2 _corr. The major conceptual conclusion that is drawn from this is that one needs two nontrivial complementary thermodynamic limits to define the equilibrium thermodynamics of two-component Coulomb systems. One of them is the standard thermodynamic limit (infinite volume), where one takesN, _corr fixed. Its complementary limit is characterized byN, _inh fixed, and is a finite-volume inhomogeneous mean-field limit. The most prominent new feature in the mean-field thermodynamic limit, which is absent in the standard thermodynamic limit, is an anomalous first-order phase transition where the Coulomb system explodes or implodes, respectively. The phase transition is connected with the existence of a metastable plasma phase far below the ionization temperature.     

Density Correlations in the Two-Dimensional Coulomb Gas

We consider a two-dimensional Coulomb gas of positive and negative pointlike unit charges interacting via a logarithmic potential. The density (rather than the charge) correlation functions are studied. In the bulk, the form-factor theory of an equivalent sine-Gordon model is used to determine the density correlation length. At the surface of a rectilinear plain wall, the universality of the asymptotic behavior of the density correlations is suggested. A scaling analysis implies a local form of the compressibility sum rule near a hard wall. A symmetry of the Coulomb system with respect to the Möbius conformal transformation, which induces a gravitational source acting on the particle density, is established. Among the consequences, a universal term of the finite-size expansion of the grand potential is derived exactly for a disk geometry of the confining domain.     

Theory of quantum fluctuations and the Onsager relations

A microscopic model is constructed within the theory of normal fluctuations for quantum systems, yielding an irreversible dynamics satisfying the Onsager relations. The property of return to equilibrium and the principle of minimal entropy production are proved.     

Gaussian Quantum Fluctuations in Interacting Many Particle Systems

We consider a many particle quantum system, in which each particle interacts only with its nearest neighbours. Provided that the energy per particle has an upper bound, we show, that the energy distribution of almost every product state becomes a Gaussian normal distribution in the limit of infinite number of particles. We indicate some possible applications.     

On the dielectric susceptibility of classical Coulomb systems

This paper reports exact and numerical results on the shape dependence of the dielectric susceptibility of the one-component plasma (O.C.P.) in two dimensions. Some apparently conflicting predictions of phenomenological electrostatics and statistical mechanics are resolved. We prove indeed that, for a disk shaped two-dimensional one-component plasma at the particular temperatureT ₀ =q ² (2K _B )^–1, the Clausius-Mossotti relation is exactly fulfilled. It yields a value of the susceptibility which is twice that given by the second moment Stillinger-Lovett sum rule. Similar results are reported for the strip geometry. These discrepancies are explained in terms of shape dependent versus shape independent thermodynamic limits. We report also exact and numerical results on the size dependence of the dielectric susceptibility of the systems quoted above.     

Fluctuations in a one-dimensional mechanical system. I. The Euler limit

We prove the central limit theorem for the density fluctuation field of a one-dimensional mechanical system (hard rods with equal masses and lengths and elastic collisions) in the hydrodynamic limit on the Euler time scale. The limiting process is deterministic and is governed by the linearized Euler equations of the model.     

Coulomb systems seen as critical systems: Finite-size effects in two dimensions

It is known that the free energy at criticality of a finite two-dimensional system of characteristic sizeL has in general a term which behaves like logL asL; the coefficient of this term is universal. There are solvable models of two-dimensional classical Coulomb systems which exhibit the same finite-size correction (except for its sign) although the particle correlations are short-ranged, i.e., noncritical. Actually, the electrical potential and electrical field correlationsare critical at all temperatures (as long as the Coulomb system is a conductor), as a consequence of the perfect screening property of Coulomb systems. This is why Coulomb systems have to exhibit critical finite-size effects.Laboratoire Associé au Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique