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arXiv · 2009.02359

The boundary density profile of a Coulomb droplet. Freezing at the edge

Gabriel Cardoso·Jean-Marie Stéphan·Alexander G. Abanov
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Abstract

We revisit the problem of computing the boundary density profile of a droplet of two-dimensional one-component plasma (2D OCP) with logarithmic interaction between particles in a confining harmonic potential. At a sufficiently low temperature but still in the liquid phase, the density exhibits oscillations as a function of the distance to the boundary of the droplet. We obtain the density profile numerically using Monte-Carlo simulations of the 2D OCP. We argue that the decay and period of those oscillations can be explained within a picture of the Wigner crystallization near the boundary, where the crystal is gradually melted with the increasing distance to the boundary.

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Gabriel Cardoso, Jean-Marie Stéphan, Alexander G. Abanov. 2020-09-04. The boundary density profile of a Coulomb droplet. Freezing at the edge. https://doi.org/10.1088/1751-8121%2Fabcab9

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