Asymptotics for minimal discrete energy on the sphere

We investigate the energy of arrangements of points on the surface of the unit sphere in that interact through a power law potential where and is Euclidean distance. With denoting the minimal energy for such -point arrangements we obtain bounds (valid for all ) for in the cases when and . For , we determine the precise asymptotic behavior of as . As a corollary, lower bounds are given for the separation of any pair of points in an -point minimal energy configuration, when . For the unit sphere in , we present two conjectures concerning the asymptotic expansion of that relate to the zeta function for a hexagonal lattice in the plane. We prove an asymptotic upper bound that supports the first of these conjectures. Of related interest, we derive an asymptotic formula for the partial sums of when (the divergent case).