Time-dependent correlations in an inhomogeneous one-component plasma

Sum rules describing perfect screening at equilibrium in a classical plasma are extended to the time-displaced structure function of an inhomogeneous one-component plasma. We find that there are long-wavelength modes which oscillate undamped with a single frequency, being an angular average of the squared plasma frequency at infinity. Our results are derived heuristically, allowing also for quantum effects, from linear response theory, and rigorously from the classical BBGKY hierarchy under some reasonable assumptions on the spatial decay of correlations. Special cases are investigated, in particular plasmas bounded by walls of varied shapes.This laboratory is associated with the CNRS.